Copyright,  1906,  by  The  Cextuiiy  Co. 

"The  Palisades" 

FROM  A  PAINTING   BY  VAN    DEARING   PERRINE.  THE  PAINTER  OF  THE 
PALISADES.  OWNED  BY  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 


"Amid  thy  forest  solitudes  one  climbs 
O'er  crags,  that  proudly  tower  above  the  deep, 
And  knows  that  sense  of  danger  which  sublimes 
'ihe  breathless  moment,  when  his  daring  step 
Is  on  the  verge  of  the  cliff,  and  he  can  hear 
'ihe  low  dash  of  the  wave  with  startled  ear." 

— Fitz-Grecne  Ilalleck. 


THE  PALISADES 


OF 


THE  HUDSON 


THEIR  FORMATION,  TRADITION, 
ROMANCE,  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATIONS, 
NATURAL  WONDERS  AND  PRESERVATION 


ARTHUR  C.  MACK 


PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  PALISADE  PRESS 

Edgewater,   New  Jerset 


COPYRIGHT  NOTICE. 

The  title,  text  matter,  illustrations,  maps  and  cover 
design  of  this  book  have  been  duly  copyrighted,  accord- 
ing to  law,  and  their  unauthorized  use  will  be  vigorously 
prosecuted. 


Copyright,  1909,  by  The  Palisade  Press. 


CONTENTS 


Alpine     23-23 

Altitude    of    the    Palisades 2 

Area    of   the    Palisades    Interstate    Park 47,  48 

Bergen,   Ancient   Town    of 9 

Birds   of   the   Palisades 53 

Block    House    Point 10 

Burdett's     Ferry 13,   14 

Burr-Hamilton    Duel     10 

Bull's    Ferry    1 1 

Boundaries    of    Palisades    Interstate    Park 48 

Campers    Along    the    Palisades 4S-49 

Castle    Point    9 

Closter    Landing    28 

Corn  wall  is'     Headquarters    27-28 

Commissioners    Palisades    Interstate    Park 50 

Chevaux-de-Frise     15 

Desecration    of   the    PaKsades 39 

Englewood     26-27 

Englewood    Cliffs     35 

Englewood    Creek    26 

Elysian    Fields    10 

Fort   Lee,   Historic   Old 15-23 

Fort    Washington,    Battle    of 18-21 

Flowers    of    the    Palisades 52-53 

Ferry   Routes   to   Palisades    Interstate    Park 56 

Geology    of    the    Palisades 3-5 

Gifts   to   the    Palisades    Reservation 44 

Hamilton-Burr    Duel    and    Monument 10-11 

Half-Moon     7-9 

History,    Palisades    in 7 

Hudson,    Henry    8 

Henry    Hudson    Drive 55 

Huyler's    Landing     27-28 

Hoboken     9 

Indians    of   the   Palisades 7 

Jeffrey's    Hook    17,   18 

Lee,    Gen.    Charles 26 

Lee,     Fort    13-23 

Map    of  Sneden's   Landing 32 

Map    of   the    Forts 15 

Path   Through    Palisades    Interstate    Park 48 

Park,    Palisades    Interstate 47 

Palisades,    Town    of 31-32 

Police  Patrol  of  Palisades  Interstate  Park 49 

Roads    of   the    Palisades 35 

Springs    of    the    Palisades 49 

Saving    the    Palisades 39 

Sneden's    Landing    29-33 

Sneden,    Mollie     32 

Trees    of    the    Palisades 52 

Undercliff    Settlement    27 

Washington,    Fort     15-23 

Washington,    Gen.    George 15-23 

Washington,    Lady    Martha 33 

Washington,    Battle   of    Fort 18-21 

Weehawken      10 

Women's   Work   for  the    Palisades 40,  48 


2211811 


WHERE   CREDIT   IS   DUE. 

Acknowledgments  are  hereby  made  to  the  following 
persons  for  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  tliis  book: 
Charles  P.  Berkey,  B.  S.  Ph.  D.,  Instructor  in  Geology, 
Columbia  University,  New  York;  AVinthrop  S.  Gillman, 
author  of  "The  Story  of  the  Ferry"  (A  History  of 
Palisades  and  Sneden's  Landing) ;  Francis  E.  Halsey, 
late  editor  New  York  Times  Saturday  Book  Review; 
Edward  Hagaman  Hall,  Secretary  American  Scenic  and 
Historic  Preservation  Society;  J.  Du  Pratt  White,  Sec- 
retary, and  Leonard  Hull  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary, 
Commissioners  Palisades  Interstate  Park;  J.  Howard 
Wilson,  Van  Dearing  Perrine,  the  painter  of  the  Pali- 
sades; and  for  some  of  the  historical  facts  to  the  works 
of  Asher,  Bancroft,  Broadhead,  Cooper,  Fiske,  Green, 
Irving,  Lossing,  O'Callaghan,  Yates  and  Moulton,  Paine, 
Schoolcraft,  etc. 

Most  of  the  photographs  and  initials,  not  credited 
specifically,  were  made  by  John  P.  Fritts. 


Tlie  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


THE  PALISADES  OF  THE  HUDSON 

"I  see  the  beetlinnj  Palisades 

Whose  wrinkled  brows  forever 
In  calms,  in  storms,  in  lights  and  shades 
Keep  watch  along  the  river. 

"Such  watch,  of  old,  tho  Magi  kept 
Along  the  sad  Euphrates; 
Our  eyeless  ones  have  never  slept 

And  this  their  solemn  fate  is." — Stoddard. 


O  those  who  have  not  explored  the  long  ridge  of 
towering  basalt  that  rims  the  northeastern  edge 
of  New  Jersey,  and  become  in  tune  with  the  spirit 
of  its  huge  gray  rocks,  the  Palisades  of  the  Hud- 
son remain  a  closed  book.  Travelers  by  the 
railway  on  the  opposite  shore,  or  by  the  river 
steamers,  following  the  main  channel,  see  only  a 
nearly  perpendicular  wall,  fringed  with  vegetation  at  its  base 
and  top.  To  them  and  to  writers  whose  viewpoint  is  similar 
to  theirs,  "the  great  chip  rocks,"  as  the  Dutch  pioneers  named 
them,  are  little  more  than  natural  curiosities  of  monotonous 
formation.  A  closer  intimacy  with  the  unspoiled  portion  of  the 
ridge  extending  from  Edgewater  to  Piermont  unfolds  unex- 
pected charms. 

Let  him  who  would  discover  the  wonders  and  beauties  of 
these  ancient  cliffs  paddle  close  to  their  winding  base,  landing 
here  and  there  in  the  shady  glades  that  tempt  the  river  wanderer 
at  frequent  intervals.  Near  one  of  the  cool  and  crystal  springs 
that  gush  from  crevices  in  the  rocks,  the  explorer's  tent  should 
be  pitched.  There  are  a  few  points  where  the  dizzy  heights  may 
be  ascended,  and  a  ramble  through  the  wild  woodland  that  sur- 
mounts the  cliffs  and  a  sight  of  the  picturesque  near  and  dis- 
tant views  will  richly  reward  the  climber. 

As  the  edge  of  the  precipice  is  reached,  instead  of  a  flat- 
faced  wall  the  Palisades  Avill  be  found  in  reality  to  consist  of  a 


The  Palisades  of  tJie  Hudson 


A    Restful   Retreat   in   the   Wonderful    Palisades   Region. 


series  of  bold  and  majestic  headlands,  diversified  by  innumerable 
rocky  battlements,  often  separated  by  tiny  valleys  down  which 
dash  silvery  cascades.  Instead  of  the  apparently  even  fringe 
of  verdure  surmounting  the  heights,  a  wild  and  pristine  forest 
will  be  found  which  nature  has  richly  stocked  with  an  endless 
variety  of  tree,  shrub  and  flower.  Here  will  the  explorers  who 
can  read  them  find  graven  upon  the  stones  in  spite  of  the  ravages 
of  time,  records  of  the  earth's  creation  full  of  significance  and 
interest.  Here,  too,  will  he  who  cherishes  Revolutionary  asso- 
ciations be  able  to  visit  localities  made  famous  by  the  armies  of 
Washington  and  Cornwallis. 

Standing  between  the  Hudson  and  the  broad  sweep  of  low- 
lands now  known  as  the  Hackensack  Valley,  the  Palisades  Ridge 
proper  extends  almost  due  north  and  south  (from  Bergen  Point, 
New  Jersey,  to  Piermont,  New  York),  for  a  distance  of  thirty' 
miles.  It  varies  in  width  from  two  miles  to  less  than  a  mile,  the 
average  being  one  and  one-half  miles.  Its  altitude  varies  from  a 
maximum  of  550  feet  near  the  northern  end  to  the  minimum  of 
but  a  few  feet  at  sea  level  at  the  southern  termination,  the  mean 
elevation  over  most  of  the  ridge  being  269  feet.  Its  eastern 
face  is  abrupt,  either  vertical  or  slanting  back  slightly ;  its 
western  face  much  less  steep,  usually  forming  a  gradual  slope 
down  to  a  broad  and  fertile  valley. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


THE   STORY  OF  THE  ROCKS 


ROM  geological  standpoints  this  entire  formation 
is  rich  in  meaning.  Records  of  great  processes 
in  the  formation  of  the  earth's  crust  can  be  clear- 
\y  traced  by  even  the  tyro  in  geology.  The  main 
body  of  the  ridge  consists  of  igneous  rock  of 
trappean  variety,  which  was  forced  up  in  a  semi- 
molten  state,  through  a  long  fissure  in  the  earth's 
crust  during  what  geologists  term  the  Jurassic  Period.  This 
process,  which  scientists  calculate  to  have  occurred  upwards  of 
30,000,000  years  ago,  although  similar  to  that  which  produced 
the  fantastic  formations  of  the  Giant's  Causeway  in  Ireland, 
the  Cliffs  of  Kawaddy  in  India  and  Fingal's  Cave  in  Scotland, 
has  resulted  in  a  configuration  unlike  any  of  those  wonders  and 
not  resembling  closely  an}''  other  in  the  world.  There  are  fewer 
columns  than  are  found  in  other  formations  of  the  same  oriirin 
and  there  is  more  rugged  picturesqueness. 

To  comprehend  that  vast  cataclysm  of  nature  which  re- 
sulted in  the  upheaval  of  the  Palisades  centuries  upon  centuries 
ago,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  the  character  of  the  earth's 
crust  over  their  area  at  that  time.  This  crust  consisted  of  a 
layer  of  triassic  sandstone,  enormously  thick.  Beneath  this 
sandstone  the  volcanic  forces  opened  a  long  crevice  and  forced 


A.  Diabdse      CroS6  Section  Showim^  Qeei.e4ieAu  Fo^MiATieN.  ep  The     C,  fordk»m(}n«itj 

B.  SsmJstOHC      PALlSAOEt  RiOCE  AMO  AOJA«tNTTE««iT««v   AT   eo«£WATEIt.  N.VT       0.  IkWmU  Llmuttat 

E   AAa»vkatt*K  •ScWiaC , 


Diagram  Showing  Geological   Formation  of  the  Palisades   Ridge. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


Grooves  in  the  Palisades  Rocks,  Showing  Glacial  Action  and  Movement  of  the  Ice. 


upwards  the  igneous  formation.  It  must  not  be  imagined  that 
the  ridge  then  assumed  its  present  appearance.  Indeed,  the 
intrusion  did  not  even  reach  the  surface  of  the  surrounding 
crust.  For  centuries  it  lay  buried  far  beneath.  It  remained 
for  processes  working  through  following  centuries  to  disclose 
the  Palisades  to  outward  view.  When  unexposed  to  outward  air 
igneous  rock  in  cooling  shrinks  and  breaks  off  in  sharp,  perpen- 
dicular or  columnar  formation.  This  occurred  along  the  en- 
tire Palisades  Ridge.  Then  began  the  transformation  which 
gave  us  the  majestic  cliffs  of  to-day.  The  deposits  above  and 
beside  the  ridge  were  worn  away  by  erosion.  North  and  south 
along  the  present  bed  of  the  Hudson  occurred  an  immense 
"fault"  or  slip  in  the  earth's  crust.  This  caused  the  Hudson 
to  flow  in  a  veritable  can^'on,  Avhich  recent  borings  opposite 
Thirtj'-second  Street,  New  York,  show  to  have  been  300  feet 
deep.  This  gorge  extended  far  out  beyond  Sandy  Hook,  the 
coast  at  that  time  being  many  miles  southeastward  of  its  present 
location. 

The  next  transformation  of  the  ridge  came  with  the  huge 
ice  fields  of  the  glacial  period,  moving  across  the  cliffs  obliquely 
from  the  northwest.  When  the  ice  melted,  millions  of  tons  of 
boulders  and  debris  borne  hither  by  the  glacial  movement  were 
deposited  here  and  there  along  the  sides  and  over  the  top  of  the 
ridge,  forming  what  geologists  term  an  intra-morianic  drift. 
This  crunching  over  the  flat  rocks  of  the  top,  ground  well-de- 
fined grooves  in  the  igneous  rock,  marking  the  direction  from 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  5 

which  the  ice  came  and  leaving  the  imprints  of  Its  passage 
clearly  discernible  even  to  this  day.  The  drift  resulted  also  in 
many  rocky  curiosities,  conspicuous  among  them  an  isolated 
block  of  triassic  sandstone,  called  Sampson's  Rock,  perched 
upon  the  flat  trap  directly  east  of  Englewood.  This  huge 
boulder,  measuring  nearly  twelve  feet  in  diameter  and  weighing 
many  tons,  was  lifted  160  feet  up  the  western  slope  of  the  ridge 
by  the  ice  (it  is  calculated),  and  finally  dropped  in  its  present 
resting  place.  Its  under  surface  still  retains  the  polish  it  re- 
ceived through  the  attrition  of  that  movement.  JNIany  other 
isolated  boulders  stand  in  the  woods,  grim  reminders  of  the  ice 
age.  Others  passed  over  the  cliffs,  breaking  off  segments  of  the 
eastern  crest,  and  filling  up  the  ends  of  ravines.  The  deep 
gorge  north  of  Hoboken  and  other  depressions  were  choked  in 
this  way  and  extended  originally  much  farther  northward  than 
at  present. 

It  is  known  that,  with  the  melting  of  the  glacial  masses, 
water  surrounded  the  ridge  to  a  depth  of  about  200  feet.  The 
higher  portion  of  the  Palisades  thus  formed  a  long,  rocky 
island.  When  this  sea  subsided,  the  Hudson  began  filling  up 
its  gorge  with  silt.  This  process  is  still  going  on,  so  that  the 
present  depth  of  the  stream  is  comparatively  shallow  and  geol- 
ogists term  it  a  "drowned  river." 

Until  recently  the  theory  was  advanced  by  some  authorities 
that  the  main  channel  of  the  Hudson  in  pre-glacial  times  de- 
flected at  Piermont,  flowed  through  the  Piermont  valley  and 
down  the  western  side  of  the  Palisades,  joining  the  ocean  by  way 
of  Newark  Bay,  Recent  comparison  of  the  depth  of  the  Pier- 
mont Valley  with  the  depth  of  the  Hudson's  original  bed  oppo- 
site this  point  completely  disproves  this  belief. 

The  Palisades  rock  is  dark  gray  and  blue-black  in  color, 
exceedingly  hard  and  heavy.  It  is  remarkably  impervious  to 
the  action  of  the  elements.  Under  the  microscope  it  discloses 
myriads  of  geometrical  crystals,  the  feldspars,  pyroxine,  and 
magnetite  predominating.  Chemically  the  rock  consists  of 
50  per  cent,  to  60  per  cent,  silica.  It  is  estimated  the  ridge  has 
a  perpendicular  thickness  of  800  feet  at  Fort  Lee  Bluff  and 
1,000  feet  at  Alpine. 


t'A^y      -s* 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 
A   Palisades   Promontory   Standing   Boldly   Forth   Like   a   Sentinel   Guarding   His   Treasure. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


THE  PALISADES  IX  HISTORY 


HROUGHOUT  tlielr  course  the  Palisades  are  rich 
in  historical  associations  of  either  local  or  Na- 
tional interest  and  importance. 

Of  the  pre-historic  dwellers  upon  the  ridge 
we  have  no  trace,  but  of  the  Indians  and  the  first 
white  men  to  visit  them  there  are  clear  records. 
The  Sanhikan,  Hackensack,  Raritan  and  Tappan 
Indians,  belonging  to  the  great  Delaware  Nation,  found  here 
excellent  hunting,  fishing  and  dwelling  places.  Those  whose 
wigwams  nestled  under  the  Palisades  cliffs  looked  southward 
through  the  blue  haze  that  hung  over  the  Hudson  on  the  after- 
noon of  September  12th,  1609,  and  beheld  a  strange  vessel  in 
the  river.  Slowly  she  drifted  in  upon  the  flood  tide,  a  thing  of 
wonder  to  the  savages.  Squaws  and  braves  gazed  in  silent 
amazement  upon  the  ship  of  the  white  man.  From  her  lofty 
deck  a  sturdy  Englishman  scanned  for  the  first  time  the  bold 
rocks  of  the  Palisades,  and  the  green,  wooded  island  opposite, 
daring  to  hope  he  had  found  the  long-sought  gateway  to  the 
Northeast  Passage,  wondering 
whether  the  dream  of  his  life  was 
about  to  be  realized. 

There  was  little  or  no  wind  on 
the  river  that  day,  and  the  last  rays 
of  the  setting  sun,  sinking  behind  the 
Palisades,  left  the  "Half-Moon" 
abreast  of  Indian  Head,  the  highest 
elevation  of  the  ridge,  and  almost  di- 
rectly opposite  the  present  village  of 
Hastings.  Here  was  lowered  the  first 
anchor  in  the  waters  of  the  Ma-hi- 
can-ittuck  River,  as  the  local  In- 
dians called  the  Hudson.  Peace- 
fully the  little  ship  rested  that 
night  under  the  shelter  of  Wee-awk- 
e  n  ,    "rocks    that    look    like    trees"  a  jutting  Headland. 


8 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


as  the  Indians  termed  the  Palisades.  At  daybreak  tiny  columns 
of  blue  smoke  arose  from  the  camps  of  the  Red  Men.  Scores 
of  black  eyes  peered  riverward  from  behind  the  thick  forest. 
Canoes  made  of  "single  hollowed  trees"  began  to  glide  out  from 
the  bank. 


TEST   OF   NEW   WORLD    HOSPITALITY. 

"This  morning,"  wrote  Master  Robert  Juet,  who  kept 
Hudson's  journal,  "at  our  first  rode  in  the  river  there  came 
eiffht  and  twentie  canoes  full  of  men,  women  and  children  to  be- 
tray  us,  but  we  saw  their  intent  and  suffered  none  of  them  to 
come  aboard  of  us." 

Juet  was  evidently  mistaken  in  his  first  impression  of  the 
visitors'  intentions  for  he  goes  on  to  add :  "They  brought  with 
them  oysters  and  beans  whereof  we  bought  some.  They  have 
great  tobacco  pipes  of  yellow  copper  and  pots  of  earth  to  dresse 
their  meate  in." 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  present  gen- 
eration to  remark  here  that  for  nearly  two  centuries  after  this 
historic  transaction,  the  river  flats  bordering  the  Palisades  pro- 
duced the  largest  and  most  delicious  oysters  found  near  New 
York. 

Later  in  that  September 
day,  the  breeze  freshening 
from  the  southeast,  the 
"Half  INIoon"  weighed  an- 
chor, and  passing  the  north- 
ern end  of  the  Palisades  stood 
out  across  the  broad  waters 
of  the  Tappan  Zee.  Henry 
Hudson  little  imagined  how 
soon  fate  would  bring  him 
again  to  these  waters.  On 
the  2nd  day  of  October  the 
"Half  IMoon,"  sailing  south- 
ward after  a  futile  search  for 
the  Northeast  Passage,  was 
attacked  by  the  Indians  near 
what  is  now  Fort  Washing- 
ton Point.  Her  commander, 
after  dispersing  the  warriors 

of   "Manna-hata"   with  a   fal-  a  Pallsades  Brook  in  Winter. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  9 

con  shot,  sought  the  sheltei'  of  the  great  rocks  on  the  western 
shore,  and  the  protection  of  the  Sanhikans,  "deadly  enemies  of 
the  Manhattans  and  a  much  superior  people."  All  of  the  next 
day  the  vessel  lay  at  anchor  in  the  cove  north  of  what  is  now 
Castle  Point,  Hobokcn.  From  her  decks  Hudson  pointed  out 
a  huge  rock  upon  the  Palisades  of  "white-green"  hue,  which  he 
took  for  silver  ore,  but  his  ship  sailed  away  without  giving  him 
an  opportunity  for  discovering  his  error.  This  peculiar  rock, 
long  a  point  of  interest,  has  been  since  obliterated  by  dynamite. 

THE  WHITE  man's   ONWARD   MARCH. 

As  the  years  passed  on  the  ship  of  the  white  man  became 
less  and  less  a  curiosity  to  the  Indians  of  the  Palisades.  Dutch 
farmhouses  replaced  leathern  tents,  and  settlements  clustered  on 
both  sides  of  the  ridge.  Many  of  these  original  homesteads 
still  stand,  thick  of  wall,  huge  of  beam,  their  broad  gambrel 
roofs  and  quaint  gables  still  forming  picturesque  monuments  of 
those  pioneer  days. 

Peace  rewarded  the  early  settlers  for  over  a  century  save 
for  occasional  outbreaks  from  hostile  Indians.  Then  came  the 
dark  days  of  the  Revolution.  The  shades  and  glades  of  the 
Palisades  became  the  scenes  of  war.  From  one  of  their  rocky 
promontories  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  American  Army 
saw  his  force  defeated  in  one  of  the  most  tragic  hours  of  his 
career.  Up  their  precipitous  sides  two  of  England's  great 
generals  took  their  armies. 

The  ancient  town  of  Bergen  was  located  on  the  southern 
end  of  the  ridge  upon  the  present  site  of  Jersey  City  Heights. 
It  was  laid  out  in  1660  by  Jacques  Cortelyou,  a  surveyor  of 
Manhattan,  under  direction  of  Governor  Peter  Stuyvesant.  Im- 
portant fortifications  were  maintained  here  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. On  October  5,  1776,  the  Americans  abandoned  the  Ber- 
gen defenses  and  the  British  occupied  and  held  them  until  the 
close  of  the  war. 

On  the  present  site  of  Hoboken  was  an  Indian  village  called 
"Hobock."  At  Hoboken,  Castle  Point  projects  into  the  river. 
Here  the  original  Stevens'  homestead  stood,  built  by  John 
Stevens,  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  inventor  of  the 
screw  propeller  and  associate  of  Robert  Fulton.  The  present 
house,  or  "castle,"  a  conspicuous  landmark,  was  built  in  1835 
and  is  still  occupied  by  members  of  the  Stevens  family. 


10 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


'j,^^^* 


SOME   TRAGEDIES    OF    THE    PALISADES. 

Just  above  Hoboken  were  the  Elysian  Fields,  New  York's 
great  play-ground  three-score 
years  ago.  Here  was  committed 
the  murder  of  the  beautiful  Mary 
Rogers,  upon  which  Edgar  Allan 
Poe  based  his  famous  story  "The 
Murder  of  Marie  Roget." 

In  the  year  1804  the  natural 
beauties  of  Weehawken  had  not 
been  despoiled  by  the  upward 
march  of  population,  and  Fitz 
Greene  Halleck,  who  loved  to 
walk  down  to  this  spot  from  a 
friend's  home  at  Fort  Lee,  where 
he  was  a  frequent  visitor,  wrote: 

Hamilton  Monument  at  Weehawken. 

"Weehawken !     In  thy  mountain  scenery  yet 
All  we  adore  of  Nature  and  her  wild 
And  frolic  hour  of  infancy  is  met." 

Here  upon  a  grassy  shelf  of  the  Palisades  there  met  on  the 
morning  of  July  11th,  180-1,  two  of  the  most  prominent  men 
in  American  history — Alexander  Hamilton  and  Aaron  Burr. 
In  this  secluded  retreat,  a  favorite  dueling  ground,  the  two 
men  raised  their  pistols  and  here  Hamilton  fell  mortally  wound- 
ed. When  the  seconds  picked  up  the  stricken  man  they  rested 
his  head  against  a  sandstone  boulder.  A  monument  was  after- 
ward erected  on  this  spot,  but  it  was  almost  entirely  chipped 
away  by  relic  hunters,  and  the  remnants  were  finally  removed. 
A  railway  now  obliterates  this  historic  place,  but  the  boulder 
upon  which  the  statesman's  head  rested,  has  been  taken  to  the 
top  of  the  cliff,  surmounted  with  a  bronze  bust  and  provided 
with  a  memorial  tablet.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  one  of 
Hamilton's  own  sons  fell  in  a  duel  at  the  same  place  prior  to 
his  father's  death. 


THE   OLD    BLOCK   HOUSE    POINT. 

At  a  point  almost  directly  opposite  Seventy-second  Street, 
New  York,  is  Block  House  Point,  scene  of  one  of  the  lighter 
events  of  the  Revolution. 

In  1780  the  British  had  fortified  a  block  house  here  for  the 
protection  of  a  large  herd  of  cattle  and  other  supplies.     "Light 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


11 


Horse"  Harry  Lee  and  General  Anthony  Wayne  were  de- 
spatched from  the  north  to  capture  these  necessities.  Their 
force  was  insignificant  in  numbers,  but  rich  in  bravery.  There 
was  a  sharp  attack,  a  stiff  defense,  and  a  somewhat  hasty  re- 
treat, the  incident  prompting  Andre's  satirical  poem,  "The  Cow 
Chase,"  among  the  many  cantos  of  which  may  be  quoted  these 
typical  lines : 

"Sublime  upon  his  stirrups   rose 
The  mighty  Lee  behind, 
And  drove  the  terror-smitten  cows 
Like  chaff  before  the  wind." 

On  the  river  bank  a  short  distance  north  of  Block  House 
Point  is  Bull's  Ferry,  called  after  a  family  named  Bull.  This 
was  an  important  landing  place  during  the  Revolution. 


A  Winter's  Twilight  Along  the  Palisades. 


Drawn  by  E.  Ha^'amau  Hall,  L.H.I)  ,  for  the  American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation  Society. 


A  LANDMARK  MAP  OF  FORT  LEE,  N.  J. 
(See  key  at  foot  of  opposite  page.) 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


13 


HISTORIC   OLD   FORT  LEE 


^ZmSE  come  now  to  the  Fort  Lee  region  of  the  Palisades, 
Tm  which  played  an  important  part  in  the  Revolu- 
^-  tion.  Long  before  the  outbreak  of  the  great 
struggle  Etienne  Burdett,  a  Manhattan  merchant 
of  Huguenot  parentage,  built  his  home  in  a  forest 
ikSd  clearing  at  the  foot  of  the  gorge  intersecting  the 
Palisades  below  Fort  Lee  Bluff.  The  precise  site 
of  his  house  Avas  directly  east  of  the  River  Road,  Edgewater,  at  a 
point  where  it  turns  sharply  at  the  base  of  the  Fort  Lee  Hill. 
Etienne's  holdings  included  several  hundred  acres  of  the  adja- 
cent country.  The  Hackensack  turnpike  wound  down  the  valley 
to  a  landing  almost  opposite  the  Burdett  home,  known  as  Bur- 
dett's  Ferry.  Periougas,  the  small  sailing  vessels  then  much 
in  use,  carried  passengers  and  freight  from  here  to  Blooming- 
dale,  on  the  Manhattan  shore.  During  the  Revolution  Bur- 
dett's  Ferry  offered  the  only  communication  between  Forts 
Washington  and  Lee.  Troops,  ammunition  and  supplies  were 
brought  and  sent  from  here,  Etienne  Burdett's  brother,  Peter, 
having  at  that  time  inherited  the  place.  Peter  was  an  ardent 
patriot  and  the  present  T.  Fletcher  Burdett,  a  resident  of  Fort 
Lee,  is  proud  to  narrate  how  his  great  grandmother,  who  was 
Peter's  wife,  cooked  flapjacks  for  General  Washington  and  other 


KEY  TO  LANDMARK  MAP  OF  FORT  LEE 

Reference:  I.  Site  of  the  Redoubt  which  commanded  the  sunken  obstructions  between 
Fort  Lee  and  Fort  Washington.  2.  Site  oi'  the  ahattis  enclosing  the  works  on  Bluff 
Point.  2  and  3.  Site  of  works  on  Bluff  Point.  4.  Site  of  the  main  fortification  of  Fort 
Lee.  5.  House  here  stands  on  site  of  old  butcher  shop.  Just  south  of  house  a  few 
years  ago,  there  was  about  twenty-five  feet  of  the  embankment  of  the  fort.  6.  Here 
George  Beucler  dug  up  a  dozen  cannon  balls.  7.  George  Hook  dug  up  nine  bullets  in  a 
cluster  in  June,  1901.  8.  C.  W.  Dubois  dug  up  bullets  and  bullet  moulds  when  he  exca- 
vated a  cellar  and  well  about  1898.  9.  Mrs.  Mary  Federspiel  dug  up  part  of  exploded 
shell.  10.  Mrs.  Federspiel  dug  up  cannon  ball  in  1861.  11.  James  Sullivan  dug  up  three 
cannon  balls  in  1885.  12.  Site  of  army  oven.  13.  Washington's  well.  14.  Michael  Tier- 
ney  dug  up  three  cannon  balls  in  1875.  15.  Site  of  old  pine  tree  which  sheltered  the 
platform  for  the  celebration  July  4,  1873.  The  late  James  F.  Tracey  said  that  four  or 
five  soldiers'  graves  were  once  pointed  out  to  him  in  that  vicinity.  16.  Site  of  old  pond, 
known  as  Parker's  Pond  Lot.  The  Fort  Lee  Monument  was  erected  here  in  1908.  17. 
When  Hook's  Ice  Pond  was  widened  in  1898,  the  workmen  dug  up  along  the  east  side 
quantities  of  lead,  bullets,  bullet  moulds,  cannon  balls,  a  sabre,  bayonets,  bombshells, 
shoebuckles,  a  saddle  pommel  and  stirrups,  shovels,  a  pickaxe  and  other  tools.  18.  On 
west  side  of  Ice  Pond,  there  were  formerly  heaps  of  stone,  the  remains  of  the  fireplaces 
of  the  soldiers'  huts.  Here  in  1875-6,  George  Hook  dug  up  bars  of  lead,  bullet  moulds, 
cannon  halls,  bayonets,  etc.  In  the  remains  of  a  camp  fire  he  found  guns  with  their 
stocks  burned.  19.  Traces  of  breastworks  visible  as  late  as  1901.  They  probably  ex- 
tended north  of  Whiteman  Street.  20.  Heaps  of  stone,  the  remains  of  the  fireplaces  in  the 
.soldiers'   huts,  some  still   recognizable. 


14 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


A   Rocky  Chaos  on  the  Summit. 


of  the  Continental  officers. 
The  original  Burdett  home- 
stead, a  picturesque  gambrel- 
roofed  structure,  was  stand- 
ing up  to  a  decade  ago. 

Burdett's  Ferry  has  the 
distinction  of  having  two 
miniature  engagements  of  its 
own.  Early  on  the  morning 
of  August  18,  1776,  the 
British  ships  Phoenix  and 
Rose,  which  had  previously 
passed  up  the  river,  stood 
down  stream.  When  abreast 
of  the  ferry  the  Rose  was 
hulled  by  a  shot  from  Gen- 
eral Mercer's  Battery  locat- 
ed there,  firing  grape  shot  in 
return.  Again  on  October 
27,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  two  British  frigates  moved  up  the  river  and  anchored 
off  Burdett's  Ferry,  apparently  to  cut  off  communication  be- 
tween the  forts.  The  barbette  battery  on  Fort  Lee  Bluff  opened 
fire  and  two  18-poundcrs  brought  down  to  the  ferry  landing 
from  Fort  Lee  and  planted  opposite  the  ships  repeatedly  hulled 
and  partially  disabled  one  of  the  vessels  (Irving).  "Had  the 
tide  been  flood  one-half  hour  longer,"  wrote  General  Greene, 
"we  should  have  sunk  her." 

THE  DARK  DAYS  OF    '76. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  dramatic  events  that  occurred  in 
and  about  Fort  Lee  while  the  struggle  for  Independence  was  at 
its  height,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  status  of  the  oppos- 
ing forces  in  early  November,  1776.  The  Colonial  cause  was  in 
a  critical  condition. 

Forced  to  retire  from  Long  Island  and  Westchester,  and 
driven  northward  from  southern  Manhattan  Island,  that  portion 
of  the  Continental  forces  east  of  the  Hudson  now  found  itself 
on  the  heights  between  the  Harlem  and  the  Hudson,  hemmed  in 
on  all  sides  by  the  great  army  of  Sir  William  Howe  The 
troops  were  battered,  ragged  and  discouraged,  and  discontent 
had  begun  to  develop  in  their  ranks. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


15 


THE  KEY  TO  THE  HUDSON 


ONGRESS  had  already  instructed  Washington  to 
"by  every  art  and  whatever  expense  obstruct  ef- 
fectually the  navigation  between  Fort  Washing- 
ton (on  the  east  bank  of  the  river)  and  Mount 
Constitution  (on  the  Palisades  whereon  Fort  Lee 
stood)  as  well  to  prevent  the  enemy's  frigates 
lately  gone  up,  as  to  hinder  them  from  receiving 
succor."  In  accordance  with  these  plans  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  had  fortified  the  two  defenses  that  thus  held  the  key  to 
the  Hudson  A'alley,  Fort  Washington  and  Fort  Lee.  Colonel 
Rufus  Putnam  had  constructed  an  elaborate  clievaux-de-frise, 
across  the  river  between  the  forts.  This  obstruction  consisted 
of  two  sunken  sloops,  two  sunken  brigs,  two  large  ships  mounted 
with  heavy  guns  and  swivels,  "two  hundred  iron  fraise  of  400 
weight  each,"  besides  sundry  logs  and  other  impedimenta. 

Fort  Lee  must  be  connected  inseparably  with  its  sister  for- 
tification, Fort  Washington 
on  the  opposite  shore.  In- 
deed, as  Greene  wrote  Wash- 
ington, "it  was  of  no  conse- 
quence except  in  conjunction 
w  i  t  h  Fort  AVashington." 
Fort  Lee  was  constructed  by 
General  Hugli  Mercer  and 
was  originally  called  Fort 
Constitution,  but  on  October 
18,  1776,  was  rechristened  in 
honor  of  General  Charles  Lee. 
Its  main  works  were  lo- 
cated on  the  crest  of  a  precipitous  bluff  of  the  Palisades,  250 
feet  above  the  river,  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  present  road 
that  ascends  to  the  little  village  named  in  honor  of  the  fort. 
Immediately  below  the  fort  is  the  deep  gorge  through  which  this 
road  winds  and  a  stream  named  Dead  Brook.  To  the  northeast 
on  Fort  Lee  Bluff,  directly  overlooking  the  river,  there  were 
constructed  outworks  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  the  river 
and  commanding  the  chevaux-de-frise. 


Diagram   of   Forts   Lee   and  Washington. 


i 


— — ^    .■'.'.'■'..^ 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


17 


MILITARY  VALUE   OF   FORT   LEE. 

The  strategic  value  of  Fort  Lee  lay  in  its  ability  to  bom- 
bard any  hostile  fleet  in  the  river  beneath,  and  to  supply  re- 
inforcements to  the  opposite  shore.  Fort  Washington  lay  on 
the  heights  of  Manhattan  Island  almost  directly  opposite,  Avith 
long  outworks  running  down  to  Jeffrey's  Hook,  as  Fort  Wash- 
ington Point  was  then  named. 

With  his  keen  foresight  Washington  saw  the  futility  of  en- 
deavoring to  hold  the  fortification  named  in  his  honor,  writing 
Governor  William  Livingston,  of  New  Jersey :  "That  they  will 
invest  Fort  Washington  is  a  matter  of  which  there  can  be  no 
doubt."     The  Americans  holding  Fort  Washington  were  out- 

.     numbered  by  the  enemy  almost  three 

[  j     to  one.      General  Charles  Lee  had  in- 

I  I     solently  disregarded  the  Commander's 

orders  to  bring  the  7,000  men  under 

I     him  at  North  Castle  to  reinforce  the 

i  forts.     Colonel    Putnam's    elaborate 

obstruction  had  been  proved  vulner- 
able, for  on  the  morning  of  October 
9th  the  British  men-of-war  Roebuck, 
Phoenix  and  Tartar,  with  all  sail  set 
to  a  fresh  south  wind,  got  under  way 
from  their  anchorage  in  the  lower 
river,  and  swept  through  the  obstruc- 
tions in  gallant  style,  notwithstand- 
ing bombardment  from  the  two  shore 
defenses.  Later,  on  the  night  of 
November  l-ith,  a  fleet  of  the  enemy's 
flat  boats  passed  in  spite  of  the 
obstructions,  and  proceeded  into  the  Harlem  River. 

The  Commander-in-Chief,  therefore,  ordered  General 
Greene  to  evacuate  Fort  Washington,  and  withdraw  from  Fort 
Lee.  The  orders  were  of  a  somewhat  discretionary  nature,  how- 
ever. Greene  and  Putnam  were  both  sanguine  of  their  ability 
to  hold  the  forts  successfully  and  decided  to  remain.  Congress, 
then  sitting  at  Fishkill,  and  fearful  of  an  invasion  of  the  Hud- 
son Valley,  further  complicated  matters  by  transmitting  in- 
structions not  to  evacuate  the  forts  except  in  case  of  "direst 
necessity." 


Picturesque  Foreground  of  Dense 
Foliage  and  High  Rocks. 


18 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


WASHINGTON  AT  FOKT  LEE. 


The  Ice  Floeo'  Silent  Course. 


On  the  13th  of  November  Washington,  anxious  concerning 
the  forts,  arrived  at  Fort  Lee  from  Stony  Point,  traveling  by 
the  road  that  follows  the 
western  slope  of  the  Pali- 
sades. Here  he  found  Greene 
reinforcing  Fort  Washing- 
ton. After  a  brief  visit  the 
Commander  left  for  the 
headquarters  at  Hackensack. 

Stirring  events  now  fol- 
lowed in  rapid  succession.  On 
the  15th  Colonel  Robert  Ma- 
g  a  w  ,  commanding  Fort 
Washington,  received  an  im- 
perative order  to  surrender 
from  General  Howe.  The 
order  threatened  severe 
measures  should  it  be  refused.  In  ringing  terms  Magaw  threw 
down  the  gauntlet  in  his  stirring  message  containing  the  memo- 
rable words,  "actuated  by  the  most  glorious  cause  that  mankind 
ever  fought  in,  I  am  determined  to  hold  this  fort  until  the  last 
extremity."  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
Greene  sent  a  hurried  message  requesting  the  presence  of  Wash- 
ington at  Fort  Lee.  The  General  galloped  over  the  Hacken- 
sack turnpike  and  reached  the  fort  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing. Greene  had  already  crossed  the  river.  Down  the  gorge 
road  Washington  hurried,  and,  boarding  a  boat,  was  ix)wed 
across  toward  Jeffrey's  Hook.  When  half-way  across,  as 
Washington  himself  puts  it  in  his  journal,  "I  met  Generals  Put- 
nam and  Greene,  who  were  just  returning  from  thence  (Fort 
Washington)  and  they  informed  me  that  the  troops  were  in 
high  spirits  and  would  make  a  good  defense,  and  it  being  late 
at  night,  I  returned."  That  night  Washington  slept  at  the 
Burdett  house,  of  which  we  have  already  heard. 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  FORTS. 


Early  on  the  next  day,  after  the  morning  mists  had  cleared 
away,  the  boom  of  cannon  and  crack  of  musketry  announced  the 
opening  of  hostilities.  From  the  lofty  eminence  of  Fort  Lee 
the   entire   scene   of  battle  was   visible.      Beneath   the   anxious 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


19 


.1^ 


watchers  at  that  point,  flowed 
the  Hudson,  the  foreground 
of  a  vast  panorama  stretch- 
ing far  to  the  north  among 
the  Westchester  hills,  to  the 
blue  hills  of  Long  Island  be- 
yond the  Sound  and  to  the 
south  as  far  as  Staten  Island. 
Across  on  the  heights 
of  the  opposite  island  these 
watchers  could  now  clearly 
see  the  beginning  of  the 
greatest  battle  ever  fought 
A  Wind-swept  Crag.  ^^^^    Manhattan    Island ;    a 

battle  in  which  love,  patriotism,  daring  and  even  treason,  were 
all  strangely  intermixed.  Brave  Robert  Magaw,  with  scarce 
3,000  men,  faced  over  8,900  British  pressing  him  on  three  sides 
and  with  the  man-of-war  Pearl  threatening  his  riverward  earth- 
works. 

Through  the  woods  from  the  north  came  the  first  column 
under  Von  Knyphausen,  3,000  strong ;  from  the  south  charged 
two  brigades  under  Percy  together  with  Maxwell's  forces,  over 
5,000  men  all  told;  from  the  cast  moved  Sterling  with  over  900 
men  in  line.  It  was  a  bewildering  attack  for  the  little  garrison 
to  meet. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  crack  of  the  muskets.  Again 
and  again  an  opening  was  made  in  the  defenses.  Again  and 
again  it  was  resolutely  closed.  The  little  force  of  Americans 
fought  shoulder  to  shoulder,  as  men  only  fight  when  desperately 
pressed.  For  an  hour  and  a  half  Cadwallader's  800  Pennsyl- 
vanians  held  back  5,000  British.  Among  these  800  stood  Cor- 
bin,  a  Pennsylvania  gunner.  Behind  him  crouched  his  wife, 
Margaret.  A  shot  mortally  wounded  him.  His  wife  instantly 
took  his  place  at  the  gun  and  fired  it  steadily  till  a  grape-shot 
prostrated  her.  She  was  the  first  woman  to  fight  in  the  cause  of 
American  liberty,  and  the  first  woman  to  receive  a  pension  from 
the  Government  in  recognition  of  her  services. 

WASHINGTON    VIEWS    THE    DISASTER. 

While  the  din  was  at  its  height  a  silent  and  impressive 
scene  was  being  enacted  at  Fort  Lee  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  Upon  the  crest  of  the  Palisades  stood  Washington  and 
his  officers  gravely  watching  the  tide  of  battle.     As  the  attack- 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


21 


ing  columns  worked  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  defenders  a  look 
of  anguish  overspread  the  Commander's  strong  face.  Taking 
paper  and  pencil  he  hastily  wrote  a  message  to  Magaw.  Wash- 
ington had  already  seen  that  the  defense  was  hopeless,  but  he 
believed  that  the  little  army  might  still  be  rescued.  He  im- 
plored Magaw  to  hold  on  till  night  when  a  rescuing  force  from 
Fort  Lee  would  attempt  to  bring  his  men  across  the  river. 

Captain  Gooch,  of  Boston,  took  the  message  from  the  Gen- 
eral's hand,  and  dashed  down  to  the  river  bank  with  it.  Here  he 
leaped  into  a  boat  and  rowed  across  to  Jeffrey's  Hook.  He 
landed,  leaped  up  the  rocky  bank,  rushed  into  the  fort  and  in 
person  handed  the  message  to  Magaw.  Then  the  messenger  ran 
out  from  the  fort,  reached  his  boat  and  rowed  across  to  the 
western  shore,  which  he  regained  in  safety. 

Washington's  urgent  instructions  reached  Magaw  too  late. 
He  had  found  his  position  untenable  before  they  had  reached 
his  hands.  He  had  fought  a  battle  against  odds  of  three  to  one, 
but  he  had  a  still  more  serious  handicap,  William  Demont,  one 
of  his  own  adjutants,  the  first  traitor  in  the  American  Army, 
having  supplied  the  enemy  with  the  complete  plans  of  Fort 
Washington. 

In  despair  the  Commander-in-Chief  watched  the  last  act  in 
the  tragedy  being  enacted  before  his  eyes.  Finally  the  firing 
ceased,  and  he  saw  the  white  flag  flutter  from  the  flagpole  of 
Fort  Washington.  He  dropped  his  field  glass,  and  in  the  agony 
of  his  soul  "wept  with  the  tenderness  of  a  child."  But  in  this, 
the  hour  of  grief  and  discouragement,  Washington  never  lost 
sight  of  the  immediate  danger  to  the  force  about  him.  He  saw 
that  further  holding  of  Fort 
Lee  was  hopeless,  that  at  any 
hour  the  British  might  cross 
and  capture  it. 

The  British  losses  were 
500,  the  American  losses  150. 
The  British  captured  3,000 
men,  besides  valuable  stores 
and  ammunition. 

"The  fall  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington," says  Fiskc,  "was  the 
greatest  disaster  of  the  war, 
and  came  within  an  ace  of 
overwhelming  the  American 
cause  in  irretrievable  ruin."  Along  an  Ancient  Road. 


22 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


GENERAL  GREENE  S  HASTY  FLIGHT. 

The  evacuation  of  Fort  Lee,  which  now  followed,  was  ac- 
complislted  with  desperate  haste.  "Greene  took  flight,"  says 
Bancroft,  "leaving  blankets  and  baggage,  except  what  his  few 
wagons  could  bear  away,  more  than  three  months'  provisions  for 
3,000  men,  camp  kettles  on  the  fires,  above  400  tents  standing 
and  all  his  cannon  except  two  twelve-pounders."  An  interesting 
account  of  the  evacuation  was  written  by  Thomas  Paine,  the 
celebrated  author,  who  as  aide-de-camp  to  Greene,  was  an  eye- 
witness.    He  says : 

"As  I  was  with  the  troops  at  Fort  Lee,  and  marched  with 
them  to  the  edge  of  Pennsylvania,  I  am  well  acquainted  with 
many  circumstances  which  those  who  lived  at  a  distance  knew 
little  of.  Our  situation  there  was  exceedingly  cramped,  the 
place  being  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  between  the  Hackensack 


Where   Grim  Winter  Rules   in   Solitary  Grandeur. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  23 

and  North  Rivers.  Our  force  was  inconsiderable,  being  not  one- 
fourth  as  great  as  Howe  could  bring  against  us.  We  had  no 
army  at  hand  to  have  relieved  the  garrison,  had  we  shut  ourselves 
up  and  stood  on  the  defense.  Our  ammunition,  light  artillery 
and  the  best  part  of  our  stores  had  been  removed  upon  the  ap- 
prehension that  Howe  would  endeavor  to  penetrate  the  Jerseys, 
in  which  case  Fort  Lee  could  be  of  no  use  to  us.  *  *  * 
Such  was  our  situation  and  condition  at  Fort  Lee  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  20th  of  November,  when  an  officer  arrived  with  in- 
formation that  the  enemy  with  200  boats  had  landed  seven  or 
eight  miles  above.  Major-General  Greene,  who  commanded  the 
garrison,  immediately  ordered  them  under  arms,  and  sent  an  ex- 
press to  his  Excellency,  General  Washington,  at  Hackensack, 
distant  six  miles.  Our  first  object  was  to  secure  the  bridge 
across  the  Hackensack.  General  Washington  arrived  in  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  and  marched  at  the  head  of  his  troops. 
*  *  *  \Yg  brought  off  as  much  baggage  as  the  wagons 
could  contain.  The  rest  was  lost.  *  *  *  The  simple  ob- 
ject was  to  bring  off  the  garrison  and  march  them  on  till  they 
could  be  strengthened  by  the  Pennsylvania  or  Jersey  militia," 

The  Palisades  Fort  was  soon  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
British.  On  the  evening  of  November  19th  Lord  Cornwallis 
crossed  the  Hudson  from  the  east  bank  with  a  force  of  6,000 
men,  including  the  first  and  second  battalions  of  light  infantry ; 
two  companies  of  chasseurs,  two  battalions  of  guards  and  the 
33rd  and  42nd  regiments  of  the  line.  This  formidable  army 
was  landed  at  Closter  Landing,  now  known  as  Alpine.  The  dif- 
ficult task  of  getting  men  and  arms  up  to  the  crest  of  the  Pali- 
sades over  the  rough  and  steep  road  was  at  once  begun.  On 
the  following  morning  the  British  army  and  its  gear  of  war 
had  gained  the  crest,  and  after  a  two  hours'  march,  it  was  se- 
curely ensconced  within  the  works  of  Fort  Lee. 

Two  years  after  Cornwallis  had  taken  his  men  up  the  road 
from  Closter  Landing  (Alpine)  General  Earl  Grey,  of  Lord 
Howe's  Army,  disembarked  his  forces  at  the  same  point  and 
marched  across  to  Hackensack,  where  he  fell  upon  Colonel  Bay- 
lor's patriots. 

The  key  to  the  Hudson  was  thus  completely  in  the  hands  of 
the  British,  but  it  did  not  prove  so  valuable  from  a  strategic 
point  of  view  as  had  been  supposed. 


The  Sloping  Crest  of  the   Palisades. 


Photograph  by  John  P.  Fritts. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


25 


Ruins   of  the  Old  Mountain   House  at  Englewood   Cliffs. 


MARKING   HISTORIC   LOCALITIES 


HE  remains  of  Fort  Washington  can  still  be  seen, 
and  on  the  125th  anniversary  of  the  battle,  Oc- 
tober 16,  1901,  a  bronze  tablet  was  placed  on  the 
site  by  the  American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preser- 
vation Society. 

Until  1908  no  monument  or  tablet  marked 
the  site  of  Fort  Lee.  On  September  26  of  that 
year,  however,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Fort  Lee  Revolutionary 
Monument  Association,  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  Commis- 
sion, acting  as  custodians  of  the  funds,  an  appropriate  monu- 
ment was  erected.  This  monument  is  the  work  of  Carl  E. 
Tefft,  whose  design  was 
selected  in  a  competitive  con- 
test. The  base  of  the  mon- 
ument consists  of  an  im- 
mense boulder  of  Palisade 
rock,  climbing  up  one  side  of 
which  heroic  bronze  figures 
of  two  Continental  soldiers 
are  represented.  The  artist's 
and  sculptor's  idea  is  to  show 
the  soldiers  scaling  the  crest 
of  the  Palisades. 

Few  traces  of  the  de- 
fenses themselves  now  remain. 
Traces  of  the  south  bastion 
of  the  fort  west  of  the  quaint 
little  stone  Episcopal  Church 
may  still  be  seen,  also  the 
soldiers'  ovens  cut  out  of  the  rock.  Almost  opposite  the  church 
is  the  "Washington  Spring,"  which  supplied  water  to  the 
iroops.     All  traces  of  the  redoubt  on  Fort  Lee  Bluff  have  now 


Revolutionary    Monument    at    Fort    Lee. 


26 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


disappeared,  although  J.  Fletcher  Burdett,  of  Fort  Lee,  told 
the  writer  that  a  few  years  ago,  in  constructing  a  building  there, 
the  stone  wall  thrown  up  by  the  Continental  soldiers  was  clearly 
disclosed. 

A  traitor's  name  perpetuated. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  name  of  the  Palisades  fort  was 
changed  from  Fort  Constitution  to  Fort  Lee.  It  now  perpetu- 
ates the  memory  of  one  whose  disloyalty  and  treachery  to  the 
American  cause  were  manifested  on  many  occasions.  The  career 
of  Charles  Lee  was  repugnant  alike  to  the  Continental  and  Brit- 
ish armies.  We  have  seen  his  supreme  disregard  of  Washing- 
ton's orders.  After  tardily  bringing  his  forces  across  the 
Hudson,  he  was  captured  by  the  British  and  taken  to  New  York 
for  confinement.  He  immediately  set  about  to  purchase  his 
liberty  by  treachery.  In  prison  he  elaborated  a  plan  to  his 
captors  for  conquering  the  American  Army.  But  his  pei'fidy 
was  not  well  received  by  Sir  William  Howe.  Instructions  were 
received  from  the  King  to  send  Lcc  to  England  for  trial. 
Washington  held  six  Hessian  officers  as  hostages  for  Lee's 
safety,  however,  and  Howe  fearing  to  send  his  prisoner 
home,  in  May,  1778,  exchanged  him  for  Major  General  Pres- 
cott.  Lee  Avas  reappointed  to  Second  in  Command,  but  further 
treachery  at  Monmouth  and  subsequent  disloyalty  led  to  his  per- 
manent dismissal  from  the  army.  His  later  days  were  given 
to  venomous  attacks  upon  Washington.  Finally,  despised  by 
all  decent  men,  he  died  in  a  public  house  at  Philadelphia,  his  re- 
mains being  interred  in  Christ  Church  Cemetery. 

A  few  miles  above  Fort  Lee  Bluff  a  white  edifice  surmounts 
the  cliffs.  This  is  St.  Michael's  Villa,  a  prominent  Roman 
Catholic  Convent.  Just  beyond  this  point  are  the  remains  of 
t  li  e  old  Englewood 
pier,  long  since  dis- 
used. North  of  the 
pier  Englewood 
Creek  winds  through 
a  narrow  meadow  of 
salt  grass  to  the  base 
of  the  Palisades.  To 
the  north   of   St. 

INIichacl's    are    the      |^^  — ^  '  m-  -^., 

vine-covered  ruins  of 

the    Palisades     Moun-  oid  Undercliff  Settlement. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


27 


'^'-^-%. 

i^*' 


tain  House,  burned  in  188-i.  Opposite  here,  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Palisades,  lies  the  city  of  Englewood.  The  little  set- 
tlement from  which  the  present  city  had  its  origin  was  called 
Liberty  Pole.  During  tlie 
Revolution  it  stood  in  the 
thick  of  military  activities. 

A  PICTURESQUE  HAMLET. 

A  mile  north  of  the 
old  Englewood  pier  a  pic- 
turesque hamlet  of  scarce 
half  a  dozen  houses  nestles 
under  the  brow  of  the 
great  rocks.  This  is  known 
as  UnderclifF  Settlement. 
For  generations,  dating 
back  to  Revolutionary  days,  members  of  the  A'an  Wagoner  fam- 
ily have  dwelt  here.  In  two  of  the  houses  still  live  venerable 
members  of  this  family.  Back  of  the  settlement  from  a  tangled 
undergrowth  rise  the  headstones  of  an  ancient  burying  ground. 
Here  lie  the  remains  of  the  Van  Wagoners,  all  the  gravestones 
bearing  dates  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Easily  distinguishable  from  the  river  by  its  two  long,  Avhito 
houses  is  Huyler's  Landing,  a  short  distance  north  of  this  ham- 
let. Its  former  name  was  Lower  Closter  Landing.  The  two 
houses,  with  a  tiny  cottage  almost  hidden  behind  the  trees,  are  of 


^l^'.:#C>;^' 


■-^is^ 


Old  Burying  Ground  at  Undercliff  Settlement. 


^^^^^^^^^ 

1 

k 

■  i 

a:r^ 

■ 

^^^K 

■_  ;-:' 

•-r'%fe- 

l^^^^^^l 

i 

^ 

■1^- 

1^.. 

.!9I 

The   Cornwallis   Headquarters   at   Alpine.     This   House,   Which   Is   Over   150  Years   Old,   Is 
Being  Carefully   Preserved  by  the  Palisades   Interstate   Park  Commission. 


28 


TJie  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


great  age.  An  old  road,  now  dis- 
used, winds  down  from  the  cliffs. 
Decades  ago  Huyler's  Landing  was 
a  shipping  point  for  the  back  coun- 

try. 

Directly  opposite  the  city  of 
Yonkers  is  Alpine  Landing,  which  in 
Revolutionary  days  was  called  Clos- 
ter  Landing.  We  have  already  seen 
its  historical  importance  as  the  point 
at  which  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  later, 
General  Earl  Grey,  landed  their  re- 
spective forces.  Among  all  the  an- 
cient houses  of  the  Palisades  still  pre- 
served none  is  more  interesting  than 
one  which  stands  here.  It  was  built 
over  150  years  ago  of  Palisade  stone 
and  timber  rough  hewn  from  the 
Palisades  forest.  In  this  house  Lord 
Cornwallis  made  his  headquarters.  Just  to  the  south  is  the 
beginning  of  the  old  road  up  which  the  British  armies  made 
their  laborious  ways.  Its  remains  may  be  traced  clearly  through 
the  woods.  Until  a  few  years  ago  an  old  brick  grist  mill  was 
still  standing  at  the  landing.  Here  the  farmers  of  the  western 
valley  were  wont  to  bring  their  grain  and  obtain  provisions 
brought  hither  by  the  river  packets.  Almost  in  front  of  the 
Cornwallis  house  rests  a  gigantic  boulder  which  came  crashing 
down  the  face  of  the  Palisades  only  a  decade  ago.  It  narrowly 
missed  striking  and  annihilating  the  old  structure. 

From  Alpine  Landing  to  Sncdcn's  Landing,  a  distance  of 
five  miles,  the  Palisades  assume  their  most  imposing  formation. 
Opposite  Hastings  the  cliffs  rise  almost  perpendicularly  from 
the  water,  presenting  a  sheer  face  of  rock  550  feet  in  height. 
This  is  the  highest  portion  of  the  ridge. 


Remains    of    Old    Military    Road 
at  Alpine. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


29 


Revolutionary   Pistol   Found   in   Old   Block   House   at   Sneden's   Landing. 


STORY  OF   SNEDEN'S   LANDING 


NEDEN'S  LANDING  is  rich  in  its  historical  as- 
sociations. In  tliis  quaint  little  settlement  cen- 
tered some  of  the  most  spirited  minor  events  of 
the  Revolution.  Directly  in  front  of  it,  on  the 
noble  river  whose  waves  wash  its  ancient  dock, 
was  stationed  the  British  fleet  during  the  period 
from  1776  to  1783 ;  and  it  was  here  that,  by 
direct  order  of  Parliament,  the  American  flag  was  first  saluted 
by  the  English  navy. 

During  the  Revolution  Sneden's  Landing  was  known  simply 
as  "Dobb's  Ferry  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson."  The  old 
house  at  the  landing,  where  lived  the  intrepid  ferry  mistress, 
"Mollie"  Sneden,  is  a  landmark  to- 
day for  patriotic  Americans  to  visit 
and  enjoy.  In  Revolutionary  days 
it  was  known  far  and  wide  as  "Sneed- 
ing's  old  house  at  the  Fferry."  As 
far  back  as  the  year  1719,  according 
to  historical  records,  it  was  known  as 
"Corbet's  old  house,"  and  it  was  here 
that  James  Alexander  took  observa- 
tions for  the  establishment  of  the 
point  where  the  41st  degree  of  longi- 
tude crosses  the  Hudson  River, 
marking  the  boundary  line  between 
New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

On  the  sharply  rising  ground 
above  the  landing  are  the  ruins  of  the 
old  redoubts.  Here  were  posted  500 
Continental  troops  under  Major  John  At   oid   Huyier's   Landing. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


31 


Photograph  by  W.  S.  Gillman. 

Grave  of  Mollie  Sneden  at  Palisades,  N 


Clark,  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  White  Plains,  in 
November,  1776.  The  Amer- 
i  c  a  n  commanders  believed 
that  it  was  Lord  Howe's  in- 
tention to  invade  the  state  of 
New  Jersey  by  way  of  Sne- 
den's  Landing  and  Major 
Clark  was  ordered  to  dispute 
the  British  general's  passage. 
The  Continental  officer  was 
not  compelled  to  fight  the 
British  at  Sneden's  Landing, 
however,  as  the  invading 
army  under  Lord  Comwallis 
crossed  over  at  Alpine,  five 
miles  below. 

There  are  many  other  points  of  historical  interest  at 
Sneden's  Landing.  Nearby,  on  the  Closter  Road,  stands  the 
Nagle,  or  Naugle,  homestead  built  about  1710,  where  in  Revo- 
lutionary days  lived  John  D.  Nagle,  "the  honest  miller."  The 
old  Nagle  grist  mill  was  a  landmark  for  many  years 
finally  torn  down.  After  the  execution  of  the  British 
]\Iajor  Andre,  at  Tappan,  a  few  miles  away,  the  unfortunate 
officer's  effects  were  brought  to  the  Nagle  house. 

On  the  hill  above  the  redoubts  stood  the  old  Block  House 
built  in  1776,  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the  British  ships.  The 
tops  of  two  large  cedar  trees,  which  stood  near  the  Block  House, 
were  blown  off  under  the  bombardment  of  the  British  frigate 
Asia  in  1776.  Ruins  of  the 
old  defense  may  be  still  seen 
in  the  woods  surrounding  its 
site.  In  these  ruins  more 
than  a  century  ago  was 
found  an  old  Revolutionary 
pistol,  now  In  possession  of 
the  ]Mann  family.  Between 
the  Block  House  and  the 
redoubt  is  located  the  Wash- 
ington Spring,  where,  tradi- 
tion has  it,  jMajor  Clark  and 


but  was 


Glimpse  of  the  Italian   Garden   on   the 
Lawrence   Estate. 


32 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


his  men  obtained  their  water.  In  the  little  hamlet  of  Palisades, 
just  on  top  of  tlie  hill  west  of  Sneden's  Landing,  stands  one  of 
the  oldest  structures  in  America,  antedating  by  nearly  a  cen- 
tury the  Revolution.  It  is  known  as  "the  Big  House."  The 
foundation  of  its  kitchen  is  said  to  date  back  to  1685.  In  this 
house  General  Washington  is  said  to  have  sat  at  table.  At 
present  an  extensive  circulating  library  is  maintained  there. 

Nearby  is  located  the  old  Palisades  Cemetery.  Here  lie  the 
remains  of  many  old  settlers,  among  them,  those  of  Mollie 
Sneden,  the  ferry  mistress  of  the  Revolution. 


S. 


A«,  ,.^,./y  .•d/^....  r/-,/ .„P^/...  •*,../• /I — <:..^.  ..^^ 


Map  of  the  Lockhart  Tract  at  Sneden's  Landing  Made  in   1746.     The  Original  of  This  Map 
Is  Now  in  Possession  of  the  Palisades  Library  at  Palisades,  New  York. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  33 

Sneden's  Landing  played  its  part  in  the  mournful  Revolu- 
tionary episode  of  1778  when  Colonel  George  Baylor  and  more 
than  a  hundred  of  his  troops  were  slaughtered  while  asleep  by  the 
British  General  Grey  at  Paramus,  a  few  miles  west.  Coincident 
with  Grey's  attack  upon  the  defenseless  Continentals  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Campbell  crossed  to  Sneden's  Landing  and  moved  west 
to  surprise  General  Wayne  at  Tappan.  But  the  wily  American 
officer  had  been  warned  and  with  his  force,  inferior  in  numbers 
only,  had  retreated  northward  to  safety. 

It  is  said  that  Lady  Martha  Washington,  in  journeying  to 
join  her  husband  at  Cambridge,  In  the  autumn  of  1775,  crossed 
the  ferry  at  Sneden's  Landing. 

Just  south  of  the  landing,  upon  a  plateau,  is  "ClifFside," 
the  magnificent  estate  of  Mrs.  Lydia  G.  Lawrence.  Of  all  the 
imposing  homes  of  the  Hudson  Valley  few  command  a  grander 
view  than  this,  overlooking  the  broad  expanse  of  the  Tappan  Zee, 
and  the  lower  river.  A  woodland  path  leads  southward  from  the 
house  to  a  pergola  standing  on  the  river's  edge,  modeled  after 
a  similar  structure  at  Amalfi,  Italy.  Behind  this  pergola  a 
cascade  falls  down  the  perpendicular  side  of  the  Palisades  into  a 
beautiful  grotto  with  pools,  fountains  and  statuary.  The  owner 
of  "Cliffside"  has  recently  given  a  large  and  valuable  tract  of 
her  estate  to  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  Commission. 

In  the  old  days  Sneden's  Landing  was  an  important  ship- 
building point,  many  vessels  being  constructed  here.  Only 
twenty-five  years  after  the  launching  of  Fulton's  Clermont^ 
the  steam  ferryboat  Union  was  built  and  put  in  operation  at 
the  landing.  The  only  ferry  at  present  is  a  motor  boat  accom- 
modating foot  passengers  only. 


Night  on  the  Palisades. 


j'hotograiih  by  Jolin  P.  Fritls. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


35 


ROADS   OF   THE   PALISADES 


turnpike. 


ALISADES  roads  are  among  the  interesting  fea- 
tures of  the  ridge.  This  is  especially  true  of 
several  old  roads.  One  of  the  most  picturesque 
of  these  zig-zags  down  the  precipitous  cliffs  from 
the  end  of  Palisade  Avenue,  Englewood  Cliffs. 
There  are  few  wilder  mountain  roads  than  this — 
known  for  many  years  as  the  old  Englewood 
It  crosses  and  recrosses  a  stream  which  leaps  in 
cascades  to  the  river.  On  one  side  is  a  sheer  wall  of  rock ;  the 
other  overlooks  an  almost  perpendicular  declivit3\  At  a  point 
near  the  river  the  road  forks,  one  branch  extending  soutliward 
to  the  old  Englewood  pier,  the  other,  called  Undercliff  Avenue, 
running  northward  to  Undercliff  settlement.  Another  old  road, 
now  disused,  winds  down  the  cliffs  at  Huyler's  Landing,  while 
farther  northward  are  the  remains  of  the  ancient  road  which 
led  from  Closter  (now 
Alpine)  Landing  t  o 
the  cliffs,  and  over 
which  the  British  ar- 
mies were  transported. 
The  present  road  at 
Alpine  accomplishes 
the  ascent  by  far  eas- 
ier grades.  At  Sne- 
den's  Landing  the  old 
Rockland  Road  led 
down  to  the  river. 
Its  course  was  to  the 
north  and  down  a 
much  steeper  hill  than 
the  present  highway. 
An  almost  continuous 
trip  by  road  along  the 
top  of  the  ridge  can 
be  made  from  Wee- 
hawken  to  Piermont. 
From    Weehawken    to 


^^^ 


A  Picturesque  Old  Highway  of  the  Palisades. 


riiotograpli  by  .lolin  P.  Fritts. 
This  Cool,  Shady  Path   Invites  the  Tired  City  DweMer  to   Rest  and   Reflection. 


Tlie  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


37 


Hudson  Heights,  just  below  ClifFside,  the  magnificent  Hudson 
County  Boulevard  follows  the  edge  of  the  cliffs.  From  Cliffside 
to  Fort  Lee  an  excellent  road  runs  some  distance  back  of  the 
crest.  From  Fort  Lee  to  Alpine  a  macadam  highway  traverses 
the  woodland  a  short  distance  from  the  cliff  line,  continuing 
from  Alpine  to  Piermont,  as  an  ordinary  country  road. 

In  Revolutionary  times  a  military  road  was  constructed  be- 
tween Sneden's  Landing  and  Fort  Lee,  running  for  a  few  miles 
close  to  the  cliffs.  Traces  of  this  road  can  yet  be  seen,  espe- 
cially along  the  northern  portion  of  its  course. 


Summer  ar.d   VV.r.ter  Along   the  Cld   Englewood  Turnpike, 


I'hiitograpli  by  John  1'.  Fritts. 
Depth  and  Distance  Are  Typified  in  This  View,  from  a  Jutting  Point  Above  Englewood  Creek. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  39 


HOW   THE   PALISADES   WERE    SAVED 

.ELOW  Fort  Lee  Point  there  is  but  little  left  of  the 
wild  beauty  of  former  years.  Here  the  hand  of 
man  has  reached  out  and  scarred  and  destroyed 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  cliffs.  Huge  factory 
chimneys  rise  against  jagged  quarries.  Wretched 
Italian  settlements  are  crowding  out  the  old  es- 
tates, and  soon  nothing  of  the  old-time  charms 
will  remain.  North  of  Fort  Lee  Bluff  the  ruthless  dynamiter 
began  to  destroy  the  grandest  portion  of  the  ridge.  The 
greater  portion  of  old  Indian  Head  was  blown  asunder  to  be 
metamorphosed  into  flats  and  skyscrapers  in  the  neighboring 
city.  The  old  trees  were  torn  from  their  roots  and  the  hacking 
and  slashing  threatened  the  entire  ridge.  Well  might  the  old 
trees  have  exclaimed  with  Kipling  as  this  work  went  on: 

"Children  we  are  of  the  great  god  Pan 

Who  marvel  much  by  the  river; 

How  ruthless  man  can  mar  the  plan 

Of  the  wise  and  bounteous  giver. 

We  hear  afar  the  sounds  of  war 

As  rocks  they  rend  and  shiver; 
They  blast  and  mine  and  rudely  scar 

The  pleasant  banks  of  the  river." 

With  increasing  desecration  of  the  cliffs  public  indignation 
grew  stronger.  Protests  against  the  vandalism  became  more 
and  more  persistent.  Various  measures  for  halting  the  destruc- 
tion were  proposed.  Evcr}'^  movement  and  every  public  body 
that  joined  in  an  effort  to  save  the  Palisades  helped  to  pave  the 
wa^^  for  the  actual  accomplishment  which  has  been  achieved  bv 
the  present  Palisades  Interstate  Park  Commission.  The  early 
attempts  at  preservation,  the  steps  tliat  led  up  to  this  efficient 
body,  its  organization,  its  methods  and  its  future  aims,  all  con- 
stitute a  chapter  in  the  history  of  scenic  preservation  of  vital 
interest  and  significance. 

The  first  tangible  plan  toward  protecting  the  Palisades  was 
a  proposal  to  induce  the  National  Government  to  secure  tliem 
for  military  purposes.  Supporters  of  this  idea  induced  the 
state  Legislatures  of  New  Jersey  and  New  York  to  pass  bills 


'40 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  confer  "for  the 
acquisition  of  the  Palisades  by  the  United  States."  This  com- 
mission consisted  of  three  members  from  each  state.  The  New 
Jersey  commissioners  were  Henry  D.  Winton,  Edward  P.  Meany 
and  Charles  B.  Thurston.  The  New  York  representatives  were 
Enoch  C.  Bell,  Waldo  G.  INIorse  and  J.  James  R.  Croes.  Ac- 
cordingly in  1895,  under  recommendation  of  the  joint  commis- 
sioners, legislation  was  introduced  in  each  state  ceding  the  face 
and  water  frontage  of  the  ridge  to  the  United  States  for  a  "mili- 
tary fortification  and  reservation."  The  respective  measures 
were  signed  by  Governor  George  T.  Werts,  of  New  Jersey,  and 
Governor  Levi  P.  Morton,  of  New  York,  and  submitted  to  the 
House  Committee  on  military  affairs  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Con- 
gress. The  Palisades  were  obviously  of  little  value  for  military 
purposes  and  the  proposal  was  not  accepted.  Resubmitted  in 
the  Fifty-fifth  Congress  it  met  with  similar  fate. 


NEW    JERSEY    WOMEN    TAKE    A    HAND. 

The  outlook  for  preservation  following  these  failures  was 
discouraging.  There  seemed  to  be  no  plan  or  hope  for  future 
action.  At  this  junc- 
ture the  women  of  >  • 
New  Jersey  took  up 
the  work.  With  per- 
sistence and  zeal  the 
New  Jersey  State 
Federation  of  Wo- 
men's Clubs  began  an 
active  campaign.  The 
first  fruits  of  this 
movement  were  real- 
ized in  the  passage 
of  a  bill  in  1899  by 
the  New  Jersey  State 
Legislature  empow- 
ering the  Governor 
to  appoint  a  commit- 
tee of  five  to  "report 
upon  the  preseiit  con- 
dition of  the  Pali- 
sades and  to  suggest 

some    remedy    or    rem-       Palisades     at     Coytesville.     Ruthless     Quarrymen     Were 
J"  4.„     ^^^„^.,4-     vX^r.  Gouging    Away    the    Face    of    the    Cliff    When    Stopped 

edlCS     to     prevent     the  Through   the   Efforts   of   Patriotic   Citizens. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


41 


Bare  and   Ghostly  Trees  Overlooking  an   Ice- 
Locked   River. 


Palisades  from  defacement  and  depredation."  Governor  Foster 
M.  Voorhces  signed  the  enactment  and  named  as  members  of  the 
commission  Miss  Ehzabeth  B.  Vermilye,  Cecilia  Gaines  Holland, 
Franklin  W.  Hopkins,  William  A.  Linn  and  S.  Wood  McClave. 

In  New  York  state  interest  in  halting  the  vandalism  was 
keen.  Among  the  prominent 
friends  of  the  Palisades  in 
New  York  were  Andrew  H. 
Green,  "Father  of  Greater 
New  York,"  President  of  the 
American  Scenic  and  His- 
t  o  r  i  c  Preservation  Society 
and  Governor  Theodore 
Roosevelt.  The  New  York 
Legislature  passed  a  bill  sim- 
ilar to  that  enacted  in  New 
Jersey  and  Governor  Roose- 
velt appointed  as  the  New 
York  committee  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Mr.  Green,  Fred- 
erick W.  Devoe,  Frederick  S.  Lamb,  George  F.  Kunz,  Abraham 
G.  Mills  and  Edward  Payson  Cone. 

Conferences  covering  nearly  a  year  were  held  by  both  com- 
missions. A  definite  solution  of  the  Palisades  problem  was  de- 
cided upon.  The  committees  recommended  in  their  report  to  the 
respective  state  Legislatures  that  the  first  important  step  should 
be  the  passage  of  acts  "constituting  a  permanent  Interstate 
Palisades  Park  Commission  with  power  to  acquire  and  hold  for 
each  state  whatever  territory  was  necessary  along  the  Palisades 
for  an  interstate  park  and  thereby  preserve  the  scenery  of  the 
Palisades — the  intention  being  to  form  a  continuous  park  along 
the  entire  front  of  the  Palisades  from  Fort  Lee,  N.  J.,  to  Pier- 
mont,  N.  Y."  Five  members  were  to  be  appointed  from  each 
state. 

Legislation  to  this  end  was  passed  by  the  New  York  Legis- 
lature and  approved  by  Governor  Roosevelt  March  22nd,  1900. 
A  bill  of  similar  purport  was  introduced  in  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature.  It  met  with  hostility.  Within  and  without  the 
Legislature  influences  were  set  in  motion  to  kill  the  measure. 
Powerful  opposition  Avas  exerted  by  the  quarrying  interests.     A 


42 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


This  Charming  Footpath  Runs  Practically  the  Whole  Length  of  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park. 


portion  of  the  press  gave  evidence  of  being  subsidized.  Legis- 
lators tliemselves  worked  for  its  defeat.  The  friends  of  the 
proposed  enactment  maintained  an  unremitting  fight,  however, 
and  finally  by  dint  of  tremendous  effort  and  by  yielding  to  un- 
important compromise  in  certain  points,  they  carried  the  day. 
The  bill  was  passed  and  approved  by  Governor  Foster  M. 
Voorhees. 

Thus  was  created  the  present  Interstate  Park  Commission 
which  has  solved  one  by  one  the  problems  of  saving  the  Palisades 
from  destruction  and  converting  them  into  a  great  pleasure 
ground  of  priceless  value  and  transcending  natural  beauty. 
New  Jersey's  commissioners  as  appointed  by  Governor  Voorhees 
were:  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Edwin  A.  Stevens,  Franklin  W.  Hop- 
kins, William  A.  Linn  and  Abram  De  Ronde.  New  York's  ap- 
pointees were:  George  W.  Perkins,  J.  DuPratt  White,  Ralph 
Trautmann,  D.  McNeely  Stauffer  and  Nathan  F.  Barrett. 

The  wise  judgment  shown  in  these  appointments  has  been 
demonstrated,  not  only  by  the  efficiency  of  the  members,  but  also 
by  the  notable  fact  that  their  personnel  has  remained  unchanged 
for  upwards  of  a  decade  except  that  the  death  of  two  commis- 
sioners, Abram  S.  Hewitt  and  Ralph  Trautmann  have  given 
place  to  William  B.  Dana  and  William  H.  Porter. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


43 


Palisades  Interstate  Park  Patrol  Boat. 

WORK   OF   INTERSTATE   PARK 
COMMISSION 


HEN  tlie  Commission  of  the  Palisades  Interstate 
Park  began  its  labors  it  had  on  hand  appropria- 
tions of  $5,000  from  New  Jersey  and  $10,000 
from  New  York.  A  complete  and  systematic  sur- 
vey of  the  territory  under  jurisdiction  was  at  once 
instituted  as  a  foundation  for  their  future  work. 
New  Jersey's  entire  appropriation  was  devoted  to 
this  undertaking.  In  the  New  Jersey  frontage  there  were  1-17 
parcels  held  by  112  different  owners.  The  survey  was  attended 
by  unusual  difficulties.  Nothing  better  illustrates  the  wilder- 
ness character  of  this  region  than  the  difficulty  which  was  ex- 
perienced in  determining  some  of  the  property  lines  and  the 
ownership  of  certain  areas.  There  was  much  confusion  in 
boundary  lines  and  in  some  instances  no  transfer  of  titles  had 
been  made  for  generations.  It  was  a  work  requiring  a  vast 
amount  of  patient  investigation.  In  one  instance,  that  of  a 
parcel  of  an  acre  in  size,  it  was  necessary  to  send  a  deed  convey- 
ing an  undivided  1/240  interest  twice  to  the  state  of  Washing- 
ton before  the  document  was  properly  executed. 

Once  the  commission's  survey  had  been  completed  the  vital 
work  of  preservation  was  taken  up.  At  intervals  along  the 
Palisades  quarrymen  were  cleaving  huge  masses  from  the  cliffs. 
Probably  the  worst  offender  was  a  concern  that  was  tearing  an 
enormous  gash  in  the  rocks  near  Fort  Lee  Bluff.  According  to 
a  statement  published  at  that  time  12,000  cubic  yards  of  the 
Palisades  were  being  blasted  away  each  day  at  this  quarry  alone. 
To  stop  this  and  other  blasting  was  the  commission's  task.  It 
succeeded  in  securing  an  option  on  the  property  of  this  leading 
offender.     The  price  asked  for  the  property  was  $132,500,  and 


44 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


$10,000  was  required  to  secure  the  option.  The  commissioners 
still  had  New  York's  $10,000  appropriation,  and  they  decided 
to  use  it  in  securing  this  option.  The  amount  was  paid  in  De- 
cember, 1900,  and  on  Christmas  Eve  of  that  year  blasting  was 
stopped  at  this  quarrj' — a  memorable  event  in  the  history  of 
Palisades  preservation. 

The  problem  of  raising  the  balance  of  $122,500  necessary 
to  secure  ownership  of  the  property  was  then  faced.      The  pros- 
pect was  not  encouraging.     Further  state  aid  was  out  of  the 
question  for  the  time  being.      Public 
contributions  formed  the  only  other     ' 
alternative.        The     commission     set 
about  this  laborious  process  of  rais- 
ing   the    money.      The    commission's 
president,   Mr.    George   W.   Perkins, 
Mr.    J.    Pierpont   Morgan's   business 
partner,  was   one  of  the  most  ener- 
getic workers   for  funds.      Mr.   Per- 
kins presented  the  needs  of  the  com- 
mission to  Mr.  Morgan  and  Mr.  Mor- 
gan   responded   by    contributing    the 
entire  amount  needed,  $122,500,  thus 
enabling  the  commission  to  close  title 
with    the   quarrymen.     Other    public 
men    have    contributed    both    money 
and    property.     Mr.     Cleveland    H. 
Dodge  has  given  the  commission  12 
acres,  while  Mr.  George  W.  Perkins 
only  recently  has  donated  $12,000  towards  the  purchase  of  the 
remaining  properties. 

No  tablet  has  been  placed  upon  the  Palisades  recording 
Mr.  Morgan's  magnificent  gift,  bestoAved  at  the  most  critical 
of  all  periods  in  Palisades  preservation,  or  commemorating  gifts 
which  have  been  made  by  others,  of  both  land  and  money,  but 
Mr.  ]\Iorgan  and  the  other  men  who  have  come  to  the  aid  of 
this  vast  scenic  enterprise  could  crave  no  grander  monument  to 
their  munificence  than  the  great  cliffs,  that  will  tower  above  the 
river  unmarred,  for  generations  after  the  lives  of  these  donors 
are  but  distant  memories. 

COMMISSION  IN   FULL  CONTROL,. 

From  this  auspicious  beginning  the  commission  progressed 
steadily,  securing  quarry  after  quarry,  until  all  were  in  its  con- 


A  Bit  of  Shore   Line. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


45 


trol.  State  aid  became  more  generous.  In  1901  New  Jersey 
appropriated  $50,000  for  the  purchase  of  land  and  New  York 
$400,000.  By  the  end  of  1903  at  least  50%  of  the  land  had 
The  following  table  shows  at  a  glance  the  yearly 
by    the    commission    in    purchasing    Palisades 


been  acquired, 
progress    made 
frontage : 


Feet  Cost  of  Land 

Year  Frontage  Acres  and  Improvements 

1901  11,832      122        $178,210.62 

1902  10,214.      131  63,750.98 

1903  10,377      72  38,352.90 

1904  9,500      112  46,489.80 

1905  4,605      58  43,530.33 

1906  2,010      25  41,250.00 

1907  343        2  (homesteads)  17,500.00 

1908  1,740      29  4,047.30 

1909  acquisition  practically  completed. 

The  total  cost  of  land,  riparian  rights  and  improvements 
up  to  June,  1909,  has  been  $543,000.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
any  public  work  has  been  ever  conducted  with  more  economy 
and  efficiency.  With  its  personnel  representing  men  of  large 
interests  having  exacting  demands  upon  their  time  the  members 
of  the  commission  have  devoted  their  energies  to  its  business  for 
a  period  of  eight  years.  They  have  served  without  financial 
recompense.  It  is  a  fact  notable  in  the  annals  of  public  service 
that  the  commission's  actual  running  expenses  during  these 
eight  years  have  not  exceeded  3  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  ex- 
pended in  its  undertakings.  The  territory  under  its  jurisdic- 
tion, the  probable  cost  of  which  had  been  freely  estimated  as  high 
as  .$2,000,000,  has  been  secured  for  about  one-quarter  of  this 
amount. 

In  fixing  land  values  the  commission  divided  the  area  into 
three  sections.  The  first  section,  nearest  New  York  City,  was 
placed  at  $500  per  acre;  the  second  at  $350  per  acre  and  the 
third,  farthest  north,  at  $200  per  acre.  The  commission  ad- 
hered to  these  prices  in  buying  the  land  and  virtually  the  whole 
jurisdiction  was  acquired  under  this  schedule  of  prices. 


A  POLICY  OF   CONCILIATION. 


The  commission's  policy  has  been  one  of  tact  and  concilia- 
tion. It  has  gone  about  its  work  quietly  and  skilfully.  It  has 
avoided  disputes  and  made  friends  of  enemies.     Its  power  of 


Photograph  by  John  P.  Fritts» 


Where   Cliffs   Struggle    Upward   to   Meet   the   Sky.     The   Great   City   Is   Outlined   in   the 
Distance   on   the   Opposite   Shore. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


47 


condemnation  has  been  invoked  in  only  a  few  instances.  It  has 
devoted  nearly  a  decade  to  overcoming  the  innumerable  diffi- 
culties connected  with  securing  the  property,  but  it  has  made 
sure  and  solid  progress  each  year. 

The  commission's  work  has  been  conducted  so  quietly,  the 
contributions  of  its  members  and  friends  made  so  unostenta- 
tiously that  the  general  public  has  had  no  idea  of  the  magni- 
tude of  its  achievements.  It  is  well,  however,  that  the  people 
of  not  only  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  but  of  the  whole  nation, 
should  realize  and  appreciate  the  accomplishment  of  these 
earnest,  self-sacrificing  men.  "Had  these  cliffs,"  said  the 
Evening  Post,  "been  left  in  the  possession  of  private  owners  to 
be  torn  to  pieces  by  blasts,  divested  of  their  covering  of  trees 
and  lined  by  smoke-belching  factories,  this  'priceless  possession* 
— the  natural  enhancement  of  our  grandest  river — would  at  no 
very  distant  period  have  been  transformed  into  ragged  stone 
heaps,  offensive  to  the  eye,  with  a  value  governed  solely  by  the 
cubic  foot  price  of  trap  rock."  With  preservation  insured  and 
the  property  under  its  control  the  commission  will  now  concen- 
trate its  energies  upon  the  care  and  development  of  facilities 
for  making  it  more  accessible. 

A  700-ACRE   NATURAL    PARK. 

The  Palisades  Interstate  Park  thus  formed  is  one  of  the 
world's  most  remarkable  territories  set  aside  for  natural  preser- 
vation and  public  enjoyment.  With  its  southern  portion  op- 
posite New   York   City   it   has   fourteen   miles   of   rocky    shore 


A  Typical  Camp  Colony  Along  ,he  Palisades. 


48 


2^he  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


frontage  and  fourteen  miles  of  towering  crags  and  clifF-topped 
woodland.  The  park  begins  at  Fort  Lee  Bluff  and  extends 
northward  along  the  Hudson  River  to  Piermont  Creek.  It  in- 
cludes the  water  rights,  shore  and  face  to  the  crest  of  the 
Palisades.  Eleven  and  two  hundredths  miles,  or  58,185  feet 
are  in  New  Jersey ;  two  and  eighty-four  hundredths  miles,  or 
14,995  feet  are  in  New  York.  Seven  hundred  acres  are  in- 
cluded within  its  area.  No  long  or  tiresome  journey  is  neces- 
sary to  reach  this  matchless  recreation  region.  No  admission 
fees  are  exacted.  All  classes  are  welcome  and  the  wealthy  and 
the  humble  are  represented  among  its  visitors. 

In  commemoration  of  the  work  for  Palisades  preservation 
accomplished  by  the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  of  New  Jer- 
se}'^,  the  commission  has  set  aside  a  reservation  upon  a  command- 
ing bluff  upon  which  a  suitable  monument  will  be  erected  with 
funds  contributed  by  their  friends. 

Until  a  short  time  ago  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  for  a 
pedestrian  to  walk  along  the  entire  shore  line  of  Palisades  owing 
to  the  great  masses  of  rocks  here  and 
there,  and  also  because  of  the  precipit- 
ous formations  of  the  cliffs  themselves, 
especially  along  the  northern  stretches. 
The  commission  has  now  completed  a 
picturesque  and  continuous  pathway 
along  the  shore.  This  path  descends 
and  scales  the  many  gulches  Avhicli 
notch  the  river  bank.  It  twists  be- 
tween huge  boulders  and  skirts  preci- 
pices. It  penetrates  the  shadows  of 
the  virgin  forest  and  traverses  the 
beach.  Its  diversity  and  wildness  will 
reward  the  nature  lover  who  enjoys  a 
long  and  vigorous  walk. 

THE    MECCA   OF    CAMPERS. 

ml.      1  c  J.    J  A'S^  1    J.1         One   of   Several   Public   Springs    in 

Ihe   love   of    out-door  life  and   the        the   Palisades   interstate   Park. 

appreciation  of  nature  which  are  de- 
veloping so  rapidly  into  national  traits  have  caused  thousands 
of  city  dwellers,  residents  of  both  states,  to  seek  the  wilderness 
and  beauty  of  the  Palisades  shore  for  camping  purposes.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  months  little  villages  of  tents  dot  the  river's 
edge.     The  popularity  of  the  Palisades  as  a  camping  resort  is 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


49 


Numerous  Canoe  Clubs  Make  Their  Outing   Headquarters   in   tlie   Interstate   Park. 


shown  by  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  permits  sought. 
Twenty-five  were  granted  the  first  year,  221  the  second  year  and 
395  the  third  year.  Nearly  4,000  campers  availed  themselves 
of  the  advantages  of  the  park  last  year,  over  Saturdays,  Sun- 
days and  holidays. 

The  Palisades  Park  section  is  admirably  situated  for  use 
as  a  military  camping  ground.  The  commission  has  recently 
granted  permission  to  one  company  of  the  Seventy-first  Regi- 
ment, N.  G.  N.  Y.  to  erect  its  tents  for  a  summer  instruction 
camp.  This  illustrates  but  one  of  the  many  public  uses  to  which 
the  park  area  is  being  adapted. 

The  commission  has  entire  jurisdiction  over  the  park  lands. 
Since  1905  it  has  maintained  a  corps  of  marshals  and  a  police 
patrol  boat  during  the  summer  months. 

All  campers  are  required  to  secure  permits  from  the  com- 
mission and  the  government  of  the  tent  colonies  is  placed  to  a 
certain  extent  directly  in  the  hands  of  the  campers  themselves 
under  an  ingenious  and  successful  code  of  regulations.  It  is  a 
notable  fact  that  it  has  not  been  necessary  to  make  a  single 
arrest  among  any  of  these  campers.  ,  The  commission  guards 
carefully  from  contamination  the  many  springs  whose  waters 
gush  from  the  rocks,  an  illustration  of  this  watchfulness  being 
shown  in  the  accompanying  pictures. 


50 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


PERSONNEL    OF    THE    COMMISSION. 

The  present  personnel  of  the  Commission  of  the  PaHsades 
Interstate  Park  of  New  York  are:  George  W.  Perkins,  Presi- 
dent, Riverdalc,  New  York  City ;  Frankhn  W.  Hopkins,  Vice- 
President,  xVlpine,  N.  J. ;  J.  Du  Pratt  White,  Secretary,  Nyack, 
N.  Y. ;  D.  ]McNeely  Stauffer,  Treasurer,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. ;  Edwin 
A.  Stevens,  Hobokcn,  N.  J. ;  Nathan  F.  Barrett,  New  Rochelle, 
N.  Y. ;  Wilham  A.  Linn,  Hackensack,  N.  J. ;  Abram  Dc  Ronde, 
Englewood,  N.  J. ;  Wilham  B.  Dana,  Englewood  Cliffs,  N.  J. ; 
William  H.  Porter,  New  York  City. 

The  New  Jersey  commission  is  composed  of  the  same  ten 
members,  and  the  officers  of  that  commission  arc:  Edwin  A. 
Stevens,  President ;  D.  McNeely  Stauffer,  Vice-Pi'esident ;  J. 
Du  Pratt  White,  Secretary,  and  Abram  De  Ronde,  Treasurer. 

The  commission  maintains  an  office  at  No.  31  Nassau 
Street,  Borough  of  ^Manhattan,  New  York  City,  in  charge  of  its 
Assistant  Secretary,  Leonard  Hull  Smith,  where  its  mapsy 
records  and  reports  are  open  to  inspection.  As  will  be  seen,  the 
two  commissions  are  composed  of  the  same  ten  members,  five  of 
whom  are  residents  of  New  York,  appointed  by  the  Governor 
of  that  state,  and  five  of  whom  are  residents  of  New  Jersey,  ap- 
pohited  by  the  Governor  of  that  state.  Each  Governor  ap- 
points his  resident  members  and  accepts  the  nominees  of  the 
other  Governor.  This  custom  of  interstate  appointment  makes 
possible  the  scheme  and  intention  of  the  statutes  creating  the 
Literstate  Park,  to  establish  one  harmonious  commission  rep- 
resenting both  states. 


St-^-^s^-J^^I-lJ 


A  Wild  hem  Field  on  the  Palisades,  Near  Fort  Lee. 


Tlie  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  51 


A  PRISTIXE  WILDERNESS 

[  \N^|^jyY*  LMOST  without  interruption  from  Fort  Lee  Bluff 
.:-i^^^^^\  to  its  northern  end  at  the  Piermont  Valley,  the 
'^S^^^..^'  eastern  side,  and  much  of  the  northern  end  of 
^^#^fe|>.j  J-^  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  remains  a  pristine 
^MSpB^  wilderness.  Here  within  actual  sight  of  the  north- 
^H|^^jg  ward-pushing  city  on  the  opposite  island,  is  a 
little  world  of  almost  virgin  nature,  many  parts 
of  which  have  never  been  trodden  by  the  foot  of  man  owing  to 
their  inaccessibility.  Over  the  fourteen  miles  from  the  old  dock 
at  Fort  Lee  to  the  northern  end  of  the  rocks,  there  are  hardly 
more  than  a  score  of  human  habitations,  not  counting  the  colony 
of  campers  whose  tents  dot  the  river  shore  line  at  frequent  in- 
tervals during  the  summer  months.  Of  the  folk  living  in  the 
few  permanent  houses  nearly  all  are  a  quaint  fishing  people,  and 
old  residents. 

IN  nature's  realm. 

At  each  season  of  the  year  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park 
will  reward  the  nature  lover  with  some  particular  charm.  In 
the  dreamy  summer's  afternoons  with  the  distant  headlands  fad- 
ing gradually  away  in  the  blue  haze,  their  lights  and  shadows 
are  seen  to  greatest  perfection.  On  a  crisp  winter's  morning 
with  every  rocky  pinnacle  sparkling  with  frosty  diamonds  under 
the  rays  of  the  eastern  sun,  the  towering  cliffs  present  a  spec- 
tacle of  dazzling  beauty.  As  each  season  brings  a  new  mood, 
so  each  time  of  day  changes  the  atmosphere  of  the  scene.  In 
the  early  summer's  mornings  the  woods  ring  with  many  joyous 
bird  voices  and  one  is  reminded  of  Bryant's  lines  in  "A  Scene 
on  the  Banks  of  the  Hudson,"  written  by  the  way,  on  the  shore 
beneath  the  Palisades : 

'"Mid  the  dark  rocks  that  watch  his  bed 
Glitters  tlie  mighty  Hudson  spread 
Unrippled,  save  by  drops  that  fall 
From  shrubs  that  fringe  his  mountain  wall." 

Twilight  settles  early  under  the  tall  rocks,  enshrouding 
with  mystery  each  glen  and  rocky  retreat.  Night,  especially 
if  it  be  a  winter's  night,  with  ghostly  patches  of  snow  resting 


52 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


here  and  there  In  the  niches  of  the  dark  crags,  ice  floes  passing 
silently  upon  the  tide  below,  and  the  only  lights  those  twinkling 
from  the  opposite  shore,  presents  a  scene  of  unusual  impres- 
siveness. 

Verdure,  more  or  less  dense,  now  climbs  and  clings  to  the 
rugged  face  of  the  Palisades  from  the  river  shore  to  varying 
heights  toward  the  crest,  in  some  cases  even  rising  to  the  crest 
itself.  Forming  this  vegetation,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  state- 
ly forest  that  crowns  the  table-like  top  of  the  ridge  are  many 
varieties  of  trees.      In  ]May  the  dogwood  and  chestnut  blossoms 

dot  the  delicate  emerald 
leaves  with  white.  In  June  the 
tulip  trees  unfold  their 
snowy  flowers,  and  In  au- 
tumn all  the  trees  join  In  a 
symphony  of  splendor,  the 
red  and  yellow  maples,  crim- 
son sour  gums,  garnet  sweet 
gums,  bronze  oaks  and 
orange  hickories,  stretching 
In  a  broad  band  of  color  be- 
tween the  blue  river  and  the 
fleecy  clouds.  A  little  north 
of  Englewood  Creek  Is  the 
"evergreen  section,"  I  n 
which  spruce  and  pines  pre- 
dominate. 

Between  the  trees  that 
cleave  to  the  battlements, 
and  the  flinty  rocks  them- 
selves, nature  Is  encouraging 
a  grim  battle.  The  preci- 
pice stands  unrelenting,  re- 
pelling, defying,  the  trees  rise,  grasping,  pushing,  twisting  and 
thrusting  their  tenuous  roots  into  every  crevice  and  ledge,  ever 
mounting  higher  and  higher  toward  the  top,  the  gnarled  oaks, 
sturdiest  foemen  of  them  all,  gripping  a  foothold  on  the  dizziest 
of  the  heights,  and  leading  all  the  others  upon  the  attack.  So 
from  year  to  year  the  warriors  press  upward  covering  more  and 
more  of  the  gray  rocks  with  their  ranks. 

Growing  among  the  rocks  and  trees  are  many  varieties  of 
wild  flowers.     Among  the  first  of  the  spring  blossoms  are  those 


The   Falls,  Green's  Brook,  Near  Alpine. 


The  Palisades  -of  the  Hudson  53 

of  the  dainty  wild  violets,  while  later  come  the  bluebells,  wake- 
robins  and  the  dandelions.  With  summer  the  Virginia  creeper 
begins  to  twine  lovingly  about  the  tree  trunks,  the  creeping 
wintergreen  hides  many  boulders,  the  mountain  laurel  reaches 
maturity,  mint  perfumes  the  air,  pitcher  plants,  primroses  and 
"bright-eyed  and  bold"  buttercups  put  on  their  gay  attire. 
When  the  crisp  October  breezes  rustle  through  the  leaves  the 
prim  jacks  in  the  pulpit  put  on  their  coats,  the  fringed  gen- 
tians make  a  brave  showing  and  the  golden  rod  raises  his 
"myriad  glimmering  plumes." 

This  wild  vegetation  is  tenanted  with  throngs  of  birds  at 
all  seasons.  Now  and  then  a  bald  eagle  or  a  fish  hawk  can  be 
seen  soaring  gracefully  over  the  highest  cliffs.  At  night  the 
wild  call  of  the  hoot  owl  is  often  heard  upon  some  lofty  bough. 
The  voices  of  the  bob-whites,  bluebirds,  blue  jays,  wrens  and 
woodpeckers  are  familiar  among  the  trees.  These  are  all 
among  the  permanent  residents  but  there  are  numerous  migrants 
who  are  drawn  to  the  loveliness  of  the  park's  retreats.  In  No- 
vember come  the  white-winged  gulls  from  the  lower  harbor,  to 
remain  until  the  warm  spring  sun  tempts  them  seaward  again. 
Among  the  other  winter  visitors  are  the  ruby-crowned  knight, 
the  winter  wren,  the  horning  gull  and  the  crow.  Summer's 
charms  entice  hither  the  wood  thrush,  scarlet  tanager,  Balti- 
more oriole,  hermit  thrush  and  indigo  bird,  the  mocking  bird, 
yellow  warbler,  purple  martin,  sandpiper  and  other  wanderers 
grave  and  gay.  The  ridge  is  the  home  of  many  foxes,  their 
depredations  upon  hen  roosts  having  caused  the  borough  of 
Englewood  Cliffs  to  offer  a  standing  reward  for  their  capture. 

Among  the  most  delightful  attractions  of  the  Palisades 
Interstate  Park  are  the  crystal  streams  that  bubble  from  the 
flinty  rocks,  and  the  little  cascades  that  here  and  there  tumble 
down  mossy  ravines.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  these  streams 
is  that  known  as  Green's  Brook,  which  falls  over  successive 
rocky  terraces  under  the  dense  foliage  just  below  Alpine,  en- 
tirely hidden  from  the  river  so  long  as  the  leaves  are  on  the 
trees. 


The  Palisades  cf  the  Hudson 


55 


THE   HEXRY  HUDSON  DRIVE 


HE  great  development  of  the  park  lands  towards 
which  the  commissioners  of  the  Palisades  Inter- 
state Park  are  now  working  is  the  construction 
of  a  driveway  along  the  park's  rock-hewn  shore. 
Complete  surveys  for  this  road  were  made  in  1903 
by  Charles  W.  Leavitt,  Jr.,  the  eminent  landscape 
engineer.  Senator  Edmund  W.  Wakelee,  always 
a  consistent  friend  and  worker  in  the  cause  of  the  preservation 
of  the  Palisades,  introduced  a  bill  in  the  New  Jersey  Legisla- 
ture in  February,  1909,  empowering  the  commission  to  con- 
struct a  driveway.  Senator  Howard  R.  Bayne  introduced  a 
similar  bill  in  the  New  York  Legislature.  The  New  Jersey  bill 
passed  but  without  an  appropriation,  thus  merely  declaring  the 
state's  policy  in  favor  of  a  driveway.  The  New  York  bill  did 
not  pass.  While  the  result  of  this  year's  legislation  is  disap- 
pointing, yet  the  friends  of  this  plan  to  develop  the  park  by 
constructing  a  magnificent  interstate  driveway,  are  confident 
that  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  be- 
fore the  states  will  realize  the  possi- 
bilities and  needs  of  such  a  drive  and 
appropriate  the  necessary  funds  to 
that  end. 

For  most  of  its  distance  the  pro- 
posed drive  will  be  cut  and  filled  from 
the  Palisades  rock  itself.  It  will 
curve  gracefully  around  the  head- 
lands and  by  easy  grades  it  will  dip 
or  rise  in  order  to  avoid  the  mon- 
otony of  conformity  to  the  water 
level.  At  one  point  it  will  tunnel 
through  solid  rock  two  hundred  feet 
above  the  river.  When  it  reaches  a 
point  just  south  of  Sneden's  Land- 
ing the  drive  will  rise  easily  and 
sweep    westward    through    a    depres- 


A  Glimpse   of  Military   Camp    Life 
at  Interstate   Park. 


56  The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 

sion  at  that  point,  connecting  with  the  highway  leading  north- 
ward to  the  magnificent  State  Road  through  the  highlands. 
The  plans  provide  for  a  boulevard  similar  in  construction  to 
the  world-famous  roads  traversing  the  Swiss  Alps  and  equaling 
any  other  in  picturesque  location  and  beauty  of  view. 

Except  for  this  magnificent  driveway,  and  necessary  water 
and  land  connections  the  commissioners  will  rigidly  exclude  arti- 
ficialism  from  the  park.  Its  wild  growths,  its  picturesque 
beauty  will  not  be  interfered  with.  The  commissioners  belong 
to  the  school  of  Walpole  and  Kent.  They  believe  that  the  un- 
derlying principle  of  landscape  art  in  the  Park  shall  be  a  faith- 
ful preservation  of  nature's  handiwork  exhibited  in  such  mar- 
velous diversity  throughout  the  Palisades  ridge. 


HOW  TO  REACH  THE  PALISADES  INTERSTATE  PARK 

The  Palisades  Interstate  Park  may  be  reached  by  several 
approaches.  From  New  York  City  access  may  be  had  by  the 
ferries  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad  from  the  foot  of  Franklin 
or  West  Forty-second  streets  to  Weehawken,  New  Jersey,  there 
connecting  with  direct  trolley  to  Coytcsville,  a  few  moment's 
walk  from  the  crest  of  the  Palisades.  A  more  attractive  route, 
however,  is  provided  by  the  West  130th  Street  Ferry  (reached 
by  Subway  to  Manhattan  Street  or  upper  Broadway  surface 
cars  and  125th  Street  crosstown  cars)  to  Edgewater,  New  Jer- 
sey, thence  by  trolley  to  Main  Street,  Fort  Lee,  a  short  distance 
from  the  cliffs,  or  by  foot  from  the  Edgewater  ferry  house 
northward  along  the  River  Road,  one  and  one-quarter  miles,  to 
the  Park's  southern  boundary,  thence  by  path  the  entire  length 
of  the  reservation.  From  the  foot  of  Dyckman  Street  (Subway 
to  Dyckman  Street  Station),  a  motor-boat  ferry  is  operated 
during  the  summer  months  to  the  old  Englewood  pier.  From 
Yonkers  a  steam  ferry  yacht  plies  to  Alpine  and  from  Dobbs 
Ferry  a  motor-boat  ferry  runs  across  the  river  to  Sneden's 
Landing.  From  New  Jersey  the  Park  may  be  reached  by  sev- 
eral roads  leading  up  the  western  slope,  also  by  the  wagon  road 
traversing  the  backbone  of  the  ridge. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


57 


Reproduced  from  an  Old  Print,  Now  in  Possession  of  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  Com- 
mission, After  a  Painting  by  W.  G.   Wall. 


THE   PALISADOES 


The  following:  quaint  description  accompanies  the  picture  reproduced  above : 

The  Palisadoes  consist  of  a  line  of  rugged  and  perpendicular  bluffs,  which  at  a  few 
miles  distance  from  the  city  of  New  York,  margin  for  a  considerable  distance  and  over- 
look the  bed  of  the  Hudson  river.  To  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  rising  in  savage  grandeur, 
and  stretching  their  tree-crowned  summits  far  as  the  vision  can  compass,  these  rocks  are 
too  prominent  a  feature  in  the  scenery  of  the  Hudson  to  be  overlooked.  The  shore, 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  these  bluffs,  is  abrupt,  and  the  water  sufficiently  deep  to 
allow  vessels,  even  of  considerable  burthen,  to  approach  within  a  short  distance;  and, 
when  sailing  close  along  the  shore,  the  view  of  these  steep  and  peculiar  acclivities  is 
peculiarly  grand  and  imposing.  Into  every  crevice  of  the  rocks  vegetation  has  insinuated 
itself,  and  wreaths  of  verdure  seem  to  hang  from  every  jutting  point  and  projecting  ledge. 
Oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  butternut,  and  maple,  are  to  be  found  among  the  trees  which 
adorn  the  summit  of  the  Palisadoes,  and  grow  to  a  magnitude  which  would  scarcely  be 
credited  by  those  who  have  no  other  opportunity  of  viewing  them,  except  from  the  deck 
of  a  vessel.  Considerable  quantities  of  wood  are  annually  cut  from  this  abundant  source, 
and  being  plunged  down  the  precipice,  are  easily  thrown  into  the  vessels  which  lie  close 
under  the  shore,  and  conveyed  to   a  ready  and  profitable  market. 

The  height  of  these  bluffs  is  various,  rising  from  400  to  800  feet,  exhibiting,  in  every 
interval  of  verdure,  steep  and  solid  masses  of  stupendous  stone,  and  presenting  here  and 
there  deep  cavities,  where  the  eagle  builds  his  nest  among  the  cliffs,  secure  from  the 
reach  of  human  enmity.  From  the  quarries  at  the  foot  of  these  rocks,  inexhaustible  sup- 
plies of  stone  are  transported  to  the  city;  and  the  scanty  cottages  and  other  buildings 
which  are  scattered  along  the  shore,  present  a  singular  contrast  to  the  stupendous  edifices 
of  nature,  which  overtop  them,  and  seem  to  threaten  them  with  continual   destruction. 

Ranging  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  this  singular  line  of  precipice  forms  a 
striking  contrast  with  the  gradual,  fertile,  and  cultivated  scenery  of  the  opposite  shore. 
On  the  eastern  margin  of  the  river,  the  eye  is  gratified  by  the  appearance  of  villas  and 
seats,  laid  out  with  taste,  and  lifting  themselves  to  the  view,  amidst  a  verdant  and  culti- 
vated landscape;  while  on  the  west,  the  interval  between  the  bluffs  and  the  river  is  so 
narrow,  as  scarcely  in  any  instance  to  admit  of  tillage,  except  indeed  where  the  industry 
of  the  cottager  has  succeeded  in  extorting  from  the  reluctant  soil  some  pittance  toward  the 
supply  of  his  daily  wants. 

The  bold  and  rocky  middleground  of  the  picture  is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the 
scene,  and  the  thinness  and  liquid  transparency  of  the  water  along  the  shore  are 
inimitable. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 


®lj^  faliHaii^fi — An  Apprmattnn 

By  Vax  Deauixg  Pehrixe,  "The  Paixter  of  the  Palisades." 

In  the  minds  of  the  unimaginative  the  Palisades  zcill  alxcays 
suffer  hy  comparison.  They  are  of  not  nearly  so  great  a 
height  or  hulk,  neither  are  they  composed  of  so  great  a  variety 
of  forms,  as  any  number  of  places  familiar  to  the  tourist  of 
today.  Yet  they  have  a  character  all  their  oxen — too  subtle  to 
he  grasped  hy  the  idle  beholder  of  an  hour.  Their  beauty  must 
be  lived  with  before  one  may  he  elevated  into  a  response  to  their 
loftiest  spell.  And  then  what  a  playground  they  really  become 
for  the  imagination,  and  with  what  solemn  fitness  they  frame 
the  stars! 

One  may  sit  at  night  and  watch  the  lights  come  out  on  the 
opposite  shore,  a  tiny  thread  of  gems.  Pluching  a  leaf  and 
holding  its  stem  at  arm's  length  would  blot  from  the  eye  a  point 
where  exists  a  greater  human  activity  than  anywhere  else  upon 
our  planet  today.  Yet  what  a  mere  moment  has  been  the  ex- 
istence of  this  new  world  metropolis  when  compared  with  these 
time-scarred  rocks.  For  countless  ages  storms  have  spent  their 
fury  cutting  and  grinding  hieroglyphics  there.  But  even  as 
we  contemplate  their  age  our  minds  are  drawn  beyond  their 
blackened  rim  to  where  bygone  abysmal  fires,  on  another  night, 
dimly  o'erflecked  a  duskier  sky.  Beyond  that  mask  of  smoky 
filament  what  suns  unknown  to  us  are  lost! 

We  look  again  at  the  ledge  and  wonder  that  we  should  ever 
luive  thought  it  great  or  old.  Others  perhaps  will  come  and  will 
gaze  upon  these  self -same  rocks  and  stars,  and  though  like  our- 
selves  they  should  never  have  an  answer  for  humanity,  may  not 
the  questioners  have  contributed  richly,  by  the  widening  of  their 
oxen  sense,  to  the  Mystery? 


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Altitude  and  Location  Map  of  the  Palisades  Region  from  Bergen  Point  to  Piermont 


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